3-Alarm Apartment Fire Leaves Dallas Residents Out In The Cold
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Between 45 and 50 residents at a northeast Dallas apartment complex were forced into the cold after a three-alarm fire broke out early Friday morning.
Flames engulfed part of the Del Rey Village Apartments in the 9600 block of Wickersham Road, in the Lake Highlands area of Dallas.
Investigators believe the fire started in a second floor unit. In all, there are 16 units at the complex and fire officials say half of them were damaged in the fire.
First-responders arrived around 2 a.m. to find smoke and flames shooting from the roof of the two-story building. Residents were able to get themselves out of the building and no one was injured.
Witnesses said they heard shots fired as the flames roared, but officials don't think anyone was being targeted.
Dallas Fire Rescue spokesman Jason Evans explained, "I also saw reports that there may have been gunfire, but that could have easily been something in the apartment complex that was just reacting to the extreme heat."
Resident Devin Haynes said she grabbed her sleeping 5year-old son and got out as fast as she could. "He has no school clothes anymore. I don't have any work clothes anymore. We don't have anything," she said.
Red Cross teams are at the complex helping some 15 families who watched their homes go up in flames.
"We're working with the apartment management to determine if there are places where they can be put up here at the apartment complex or other options that we have," explained Red Cross Spokesperson Renee Felton. "But of course Red Cross will make sure that everybody has a safe place to lay their head tonight."
Investigators are still trying to determine exactly what sparked the fire.
