Blaze in Dallas Senior Apartments Claims Two, Injures Others

Two people died in a large blaze at a senior citizens' complex in northeast Dallas, where firefighters raced to rescue residents trapped by flames and smoke.

The names of the victims -- whose bodies were found after the fire was extinguished -- had not been released. Three people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation and breathing problems, but their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. A number of people were treated at the scene.

The fire at 6008 Ridgecrest Road, near Greenville Avenue and Park Lane, rapidly escalated from three to five alarms after the blaze was reported about 2:15 a.m.

An hour later there were still reports coming in that some of the senior residents had been trapped on balconies as heavy flames spread on the top floor of the four-story Gatewood Apartments building.

Firefighters used a hook-and-ladder truck to evacuate some people.

Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said the large response to the blaze was initiated primarily out of concern for the evacuation of residents, rather than the size of the fire.

At least 300 people live in the building, which has more than 200 apartments. The Red Cross was helping residents who had been displaced from their homes.

Watch Video

The retirement home's management declined to comment, saying fire officials told them not to talk to the media.
Dozens of displaced residents congregated in the front lobby of the building next door in the hours after the fire was extinguished. The power was back on and firemen were still on site.

Dallas Fire-Rescue plans to bring a DART bus to the site and use it as a staging area for residents who need medical assistance, said Sharon Rodriguez, a team captain for the American Red Cross.

She said volunteers are passing out socks and blankets "left and right," while helping about 75 displaced residents find a place to stay.

A hotel and local church have offered to help residents who don't have anywhere to go, Rodriguez said.
But some displaced residents have more pressing worries.

Resident Beth Short awoke to a fire alarm and heavy smoke and rushed out of the apartment, with her pet parrot perched on her shoulder. The parrot flew away when she tripped after safely exiting the building, but reporters covering the fire found the bird sitting on a rose bush at an apartment balcony across the street.

Short leaned over the balcony and tried to coax the bird onto her cane, but to no avail. A woman who lives in the apartment came outside and got the bird to perch on the cane.

"My baby is home," Short said, as soon as the parrot hopped on her shoulder. "You did good -- but you're not doing that again."

But the joy of recovering her bird was tempered by the knowledge that two of her neighbors died in the fire.

"If it's people I thought it was, it's people I really liked," she said.

The cause of the fire had not been determined, but investigators said they suspect it began in the fourth-floor apartment where the two bodies were found.