Dallas gas explosion at apartment complex leaves 3 dead, sends multiple others to hospital
Families lose belongings, loved ones in Dallas explosion
An explosion at a Dallas apartment complex has left at least three people dead and many without their belongings, pets or a place to call home. FOX 4's Amelia Jones and David Sentendrey have more about the ongoing recovery efforts and what residents are saying about the tragedy.
DALLAS - A suspected gas explosion and fire were reported on Thursday at an apartment building in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas. Officials confirmed that at least three people were killed in the explosion, including a child.
Dallas Fire
Fatalities confirmed in Dallas apartment explosion
Officials have confirmed fatalities involved in the apartment explosion in south Dallas as recovery efforts have begun.
What we know:
The fire was reported around 1:15 p.m. near the corner of East 9th Street and North Patton Avenue at The Clyde apartments.
Dallas Fire-Rescue confirmed there were three fatalities from the explosion. Two women and a child were killed.
At least four people have been taken to a hospital for treatment. One person is in critical condition.
Three fatalities confirmed in Dallas apartment explosion | FULL PRESSER
In a press conference on Thursday evening, Dallas Fire & Rescue confirmed that at least three people were killed in the Oak Cliff apartment explosion, and one of the victims was a child.
Crews are expected to remain overnight to continue recovery efforts. Residents who have been displaced will be provided hotel accommodations for the night.
Sources told FOX 4 that DFR crews were en route to the location to investigate reports of a gas leak when the explosion occurred.
Images from SKY 4 showed a small apartment complex that was fully engulfed in flames. The windows on neighboring buildings appeared to be blown out and debris was scattered across the street. There also appeared to be a utility truck that was affected by the fire.
A large plume of black smoke was initially visible in Dallas for miles.
At about 3:30 p.m., DFR upgraded its response to five alarms with more than 100 firefighters.
What we don't know:
While people in the area reported hearing an explosion, the exact cause of the fire is still unknown.
It's still not yet clear how many people were in the building at the time and how many people were hurt in total.
A Thursday evening press conference did not address how many residents are accounted for or unaccounted for.
4 injured, multiple fatalities after Dallas explosion | FULL
Dallas officials give an update on a suspected gas explosion on Thursday at an apartment complex. Four people were injured. Multiple fatalities are confirmed, and others are still missing.
What they're saying:
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and other city leaders did take a moment to ask for prayers for the families who are affected.
"I want to encourage our entire city, this entire state and entire nation, to come together and pray for all the people, all the families who are affected by this tragedy we are experiencing here today in our city. We ask everyone to please pray for our Dallas Fire-Rescue personnel who are still fighting this fire. They do an amazing job under very, very difficult circumstances like this. And we just pray that they will be safe while they try to save and help every single person they can affected by this," said Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson.
Neighbor Reactions
What they're saying:
Neighbors said they heard a loud boom, and they felt their own apartments shake.
"I was chilling in my living room and bam, loud explosion. I mean, what I now know to be an explosion. But I thought a car ran into my house was my guess. My dogs went nuts. I started to kind of check in just through the windows. I'm like, ‘What the hell was that?’ I walked outside and then some of my neighbors were already outside kind of looking to the east from Bishop Arts District and there was a massive plume of smoke," said Mike Sirois, who lives nearby.
Neighbor recounts hearing explosion at Dallas apartment building
A resident who lives near an apartment building that apparently exploded and then caught fire recounts hearing the blast.
Sirois was initially worried that the smoke was coming from Adamson High School, which is nearby. Thankfully, it was not.
Dallas radio personality Hawkeye, from Hawkeye in the Morning on 96.3, was also in the area at the time.
"I just saw the flames, the smoke. You can see the smoke from about two miles away," he said. "I didn't hear the explosion, but I will tell you there are a number of ambulances here. I mean a ton of them here."
'Hawkeye' reports from scene of explosion at Dallas apartment building
Mark "Hawkeye" Louis reports from the scene of an apartment building in Dallas' Oak Cliff neighborhood after an explosion and fire.
Oak Cliff resident Kacee tells FOX 4's David Sentendrey she had just moved into her new apartment complex last week.
On Thursday, she left to run errands, and returned to the building on fire. All of her belongings were in the apartment that caught fire, including her 14-year-old cat Shirley.
"I don't know what to do. This is everything I have right here," Kacee told FOX 4's David Sentendrey.
Oak Cliff apartment resident describes explosion
Kacee, a Dallas resident who just moved into the Oak Cliff apartment complex that exploded on Thursday, describes the scene to FOX 4's David Sentendrey.
Rodney Brown tells FOX 4's Amelia Jones he was able to rescue a young girl from the apartment before more flames engulfed it.
"She was a baby," Brown said. "My instinct was that I seen her and I wanted to help."
Brown says the victim told him her mother and siblings were in the apartment complex, but he was unable to return to the apartment after the fire had spread.
Adamson High School
What we know:
The Dallas Independent School District confirmed that everyone is safe at Adamson High School, which is near where the explosion happened.
School is out for the summer, but there were reportedly some teachers in the building. Those staff members were sent home out of an abundance of caution, the district said.
The school building is now being used as a family assistance center for those who were affected by what happened.
What's next:
The National Transportation Safety Board says it is starting an investigation into the explosion.
The Source: Information in this story comes from Dallas Fire-Rescue, the Dallas Police Department, Dallas ISD, and interviews with witnesses.