At least a dozen families homeless after fire tears through Dallas apartment building
DALLAS — Like many who called the now-burned building in the Villa Vista apartment complex in Dallas home, Malcolm Nelson and his family woke up on Saturday morning to find a fire was quickly spreading.
"I opened the door and I got hit with a wave of smoke," said Nelson.
When Dallas Fire Rescue got there, they found heavy fire coming from the third floor of the three-story building. Firefighters had to rescue a woman who was trapped on the second floor. It took hours to fully extinguish the fire. When it was over, 12 apartment units were destroyed.
Crews began demolishing part of the building on Saturday
A pile of rubble is all that's left of at least a dozen families' homes. Nelson's family's apartment is still standing but they weren't allowed to re-enter because of significant smoke and burn damage.
"As of right now we really don't have nowhere to go," said Nelson.
His family was forced to split up on Saturday night. Some of his family members slept in a car while he and his kids stayed with relatives nearby.
"It's very stressful, especially during the holidays. I got a lot of nephews, I got kids of my own, a lot of cousins, a lot of kids, a lot of gifts that we worked hard to get. And all that's just kinda gone," said Nelson.
A Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesperson told CBS News Texas that Villa Vista apartment management told fire investigators that they believed they had enough accommodations at the property to help impacted families. But Nelson says he hasn't heard anything from management yet.
We reached out to Villa Vista and their management company but have not heard back.
"I just hope for the near future of other families that go through these things they kind of have solutions a lot faster," said Nelson.
The American Red Cross said they have been working to help the families whose homes were destroyed or damaged but some residents left the complex before Red Cross volunteers arrived. If you've been impacted by the fire, you can reach out to the Red Cross by calling 800-Red Cross.
