DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A large fire continues to burn tonight inside an apartment complex for seniors in Dallas. Two firefighters have been injured but so far all of the tenants, many of them elderly, made it out unharmed.
There were dozens of engines and ambulances outside the complex, and firefighters continued to come and go battling a fire that started in one unit at around 6:33 p.m. on Thursday, April 7.
The fire eventually required firefighters to mount a five-alarm response.
But putting out the fire was just one of two challenges out here. The other was accounting for all the tenants in this 55-plus living center and finding them a place to stay for the night.
“I smelled smoke and then all of a sudden I heard alarms.” Gwenn Woodard, 76, and other senior or elderly tenants knew they had to get out quickly, which wasn’t easy for those who rely on wheelchairs or walkers.
“I got out myself. I wasn’t afraid,” said Debra Burks, another resident.
Dozens of Dallas firefighters arrived quickly, but the flames continued to spread through the complex.
Two firefighters were taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries while nearby residents like Yolanda Perkins offered to help the seniors who had to evacuate. “I just gathered up all my scarves and blankets out of the house and brought them here and made sure they were okay.”
Tenants who gathered together outside on the sidewalk worried about where they would spend the night and whether they had lost everything inside their units.
“I’m just worried and wondering if I’m gonna be able to stay here, if I have to find a new place to live if my things are ruined because besides fire, there’s water damage and that sort of thing and it was kind of right above where I live,” said one resident.
The American Red Cross set up a temporary evacuation shelter for them at Samuell-Grand Recreation Center at 6200 E. Grand Ave. in Dallas.
“We are working with both emergency management and the building owners as we help residents find places to stay overnight,” a spokesperson said. Blankets, snacks, and water were provided for those displaced.
No cause of the fire has been determined.
Firefighters took a defensive approach to containing and putting out the fire since everyone made it out okay.