Family Escapes Three-Alarm Fire In North Dallas
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Sixty Dallas firefighters spent more than two hours battling a three-alarm fire at a home on Collinway Place in North Dallas near Hillcrest Road and Interstate Highway 635.
It started around 4:35 p.m. Thursday.
Homeowner Gano Ehlers, told CBS11 that she was gardening when she smelled danger.
"I was in the backyard and smelled smoke. I looked up and realized the house was on fire," said Ehlers.
She rushed to warn her husband, who was inside taking a nap. She grabbed the family dog as she ran out. All made it out of the home safely, though her husband Mel suffered minor injuries.
Ehlers believes a large model airplane battery, left charging in the garage may be to blame.
"[Mel] was charging a battery for a model plane. It blew up. It was in the garage," Ehlers says.
Dallas Fire-Rescue investigators say the fire started in the garage but they have not confirmed what specifically caused it.
Neighbor Phil Strahan told CBS11 at the scene, "I literally was in my home and heard the helicopters above… I saw fire trucks and saw the smoke and water and smoke coming up. It felt very familiar because my home around the corner burned down three years ago in a similar fashion."
Dallas Fire-Rescue says the Ehlers' home appears to be a total loss. Charred vehicles sit inside their damaged garage.
"My mother collected fabulous paintings and they're all gone," Mrs. Ehlers says. And yet, she quickly interjects that they're only material losses.
She chooses instead to focus on the full life she and her husband have led and the memories they've made.
"You get emotional and everything, but it's part of life. It's material. it's just material."
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