Storms Could Be Blamed For Dallas Apartment Fire
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Some severe storms rolled across North Texas late Sunday night. Many trees came down and thousands of residents woke up without electricity on Monday morning. But weather could also be to blame for a Dallas apartment fire that sent three people to the hospital.
The incident happened at about 11:00 p.m. Sunday night in the 300 block of West Woodin Boulevard, located in the Oak Cliff area. A mother, father and young boy were inside of an apartment building went flames broke out.
The fire blew apart a wall of the apartment unit. Firefighters responded quickly, however, the structure was already fully engulfed by the time that emergency crews arrived on the scene. "I heard an explosion that shook the house," said neighbor Jerry Hodo. "I thought a limb fell on the roof from a tree. So, I ran on the porch and looked up. It was okay. Then, Joe came running out, my neighbor, and we both heard screaming."
The three people inside of the apartment unit managed to escape, but were burned in the process. "They were severely burned," said neighbor Jose Flores. "The lady was partially burned on the lefthand side, from her face all the way to the waist."
The fire has been extinguished and the three victims are recovering at Parkland Hospital in Dallas. Investigators are trying to determine if the fire was caused by lightning from the Sunday night storms.
Those same severe storms caused many problems across North Texas. Many tree limbs and power lines were knocked down. Oncor reports that more than 13,000 area customers have no power, mostly in Dallas. Four people had to be rescued from a creek in Richardson after heavy rain caused them to get stuck in a dam.
