2 dead, grief and questions linger after DeSoto house fire
DESOTO – The smoke has cleared from Canyon Ridge Drive in DeSoto, but grief and questions linger after two people died in a house fire Tuesday afternoon.
"It was a violent fire," neighbor Victor Gaines said. "Never seen anything like it! Never seen a house take off so fast."
Gaines said he first spotted the flames from his window across the street. His doorbell video shows him calling 911, but even then, he feared that the call for help would come too late.
"There were people out trying to help," Gaines said, "but there was nothing anyone could do."
The fire had already gutted the home. Gaines' doorbell camera captured the flames reaching for the afternoon sky. Neighbors said the elderly homeowners had lived on the street for decades, but they were rarely seen in recent months as their health failed. Neighbors said both were bedridden and likely unable to escape the fast-moving fire.
"I was hoping that no one was home," Gaines said. "I asked one of the police officers: 'Just tell me no one was home.' And he said, 'I think we lost them.'"
The City of DeSoto released a statement expressing sorrow at the loss and confirmed that when emergency responders arrived, they "found the home was no longer safe to enter. Firefighters initiated a defensive fire operation to contain the fire and prevent its spread to neighboring homes."
The DeSoto Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire. As of late afternoon, the Dallas County Medical Examiner's office had not released the official identifications of the victims.
"It would have been worse if no one tried," said Gaines. "But people tried. But they had to give up."
No other homes were damaged, but the loss of life, neighbors say, has left the quiet street shaken.
"It's just sad," Gaines said. "It was just a sad situation."
