3-Alarm Fire Burns Dallas Apartment Building

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A three-alarm fire ravaged an apartment building in Dallas. The flames began just after 7:00 a.m. Thursday morning at the Tealwood on the Creek apartment complex, located in the 6000 block of Melody Lane, near the intersection of Greenville Avenue and Northwest Highway.

Firefighters arrived to find a massive wall of flames shooting out of the roof of the building and high into the sky. Black smoke could be seen from nearby Highway 75 in Dallas. Chopper 11 was over the fire as crews cut down part of a metal fence in order to gain access to the building.

Much of the building's top floor is a total loss. The lower floors have significant amounts of damage. But fire crews did an excellent job of alerting residents and keeping the flames contained to just one building.

The Tealwood on the Creek complex was built in 1979 and several residents were inside the building at the time that the fire started. Many of the evacuated residents were standing outside – with temperatures only in the teens – in bathrobes and blankets while crews battles the flames.

CBS 11 News spoke with one resident who was asleep inside of the building when the flames began to rip it apart. She said that she woke up to a firefighter standing over her, warning her to leave the building. She grabbed her child and ran out immediately.

Firefighters were able to put out the flames, and they continue to monitor the location for hotspots. There have been no reports of major injuries to firefighters – just some minor scrapes and bruises. There are also no reports of injuries to residents, however, not all of the residents have been located. This does not mean that they have been hurt or killed, simply that their whereabouts are still not known.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

Firefighters worked in 20 minute intervals – 20 minutes against the fire, 20 minutes being assessed for any injuries – to ensure that everyone is safe and not harmed by either the fire or the extreme cold.

The most dangerous part of battling this fire, according to an official with Dallas Fire-Rescue, is the ice that is now covering the ground. Crews used a lot of water to put out the flames, and with temperatures still in the teens, that water is now ice, and that ice is covering the ground where crews are working. Some sand trucks were called to the scene to assist crews with this problem.

The American Red Cross is assisting those who have been displaced by the fire. "It's heartbreaking," said American Red Cross spokeswoman Anita Foster. "On top of all the bad weather we've been having, this fire is really going to cap off a bad week for us in the Metroplex."

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) also sent buses to the apartment complex to give displaced residents some temporary warmth and shelter.