Fire Rips Through Fort Worth Mobile Home Park
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Six units of a mobile home park in north Fort Worth, near the border of Keller, are in ruins after a grass fire consumed the houses. The incident happened late Thursday afternoon in the 11000 block of East Dawn Drive, after the nearby fire jumped a fence and spread to the Golden Triangle Estates.
Linda Furtado watched as everything she owned turned to ashes. "You could see the fire shooting up my wooden fence," she said, grateful to have escaped in time with her dog, but upset that she did not have the time to grab anything else. "I lost all my pictures of my children. I think that's the hardest thing, is losing that."
Kenneth Virdell has lived in the neighborhood for 19 years. He also lost everything that he once owned, and can barely face what has now happened to his home. "Take it one day at a time," Virdell said.
The American Red Cross is assisting those families who are now left homeless, providing food, clothing and a temporary place to stay.
The fire's intensity made it difficult for Fort Worth emergency crews to attack the flames. A propane tank connected to one of the homes fueled the fire, as did low-hanging power lines and the extremely dry conditions being felt across North Texas.
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One resident and a firefighter were treated on the scene for heat exhaustion, and another firefighter was injured after being burned on the hands, arms and face.
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The official cause of the grass fire is still under investigation, but residents were told that some kids playing with matches may have sparked the initial flames that eventually led to this devastation.
