Firefighters Battle 3-Alarm Blaze At Irving Apartment Complex
IRVING (CBSDFW.COM) - Firefighters in Irving spent part of the morning battling a three-alarm apartment fire.
From the air Chopper 11 flew over more than a dozen units burning at the Water Ridge Apartments on Pioneer Drive, just south of State Highway 183. There was a roof collapse in one section -- with the chimney falling into the unit.
In all, 25 units are believed to have been destroyed. Irving police officers arrived at the scene quickly and were able to help pull a family of four from one of the units. All of them escaped unharmed.
There are firewalls between the units at the complex and while each also has smoke detectors there are no sprinklers in the apartments.
Officials with the Irving Fire Department say between 35 and 40 people have been displaced.
Apartment resident Angela Solis didn't know what was happening when first-responders began evacuating the complex. "I thought someone was trying to break into my house and it was the fire department telling me to get out because there was a huge fire," she said. "I came out and the smoke was super dense... everyone was coughing and running out." Now Solis says she is just waiting to see if anything can be salvaged from her apartment.
Black smoke could be seen for miles. At least two ladder trucks shot water down from on-high, while another engine shot water from a large diameter hose (LDH) on the ground. In all, 7 engines and 4 trucks were called in to help battle the flames.
The apartments that caught fire were occupied, but no other tenants are believed to have been injured. The Red Cross was contacted and sent volunteers to the complex to help those displaced.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
According to records from the City of Irving, the apartment's inspection history is up to date. There was a fire inspection just over a year ago when the complex changed its name after a sale. There was another one a few months before that.
The complex passed both of those inspections and wasn't due for another one until later this year.
