FORT WORTH, TX - An apartment complex caught fire on Christmas Eve in north Texas, killing one woman and injuring others according to the Fort Worth Fire Department. The apartment complex fire damaged 16 units, left twenty-five people displaced, three injured, including a firefighter, and at least one person dead.
The two patients in the hospital who sustained injuries include one man and one woman. The woman passed away from her injuries, according to Kyle Clay, who is a spokesperson for the Fort Worth Fire Department.
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office has not made public the woman’s name or age at this point.
Firefighters responded to the 600 block of King George Drive just before 8 P.M. Christmas Even after reports of a fire. According to officials who arrived on scene first to the apartment complex, they observed smoke emanating from one of the units.
Two others were injured, including a firefighter.
The man is still in critical condition and was taken to Parkland where he is currently being treated. The Fire Department also stated that they had a firefighter receive minor injuries, possibly a knee injury while fighting the fire.
Curious bystanders and neighbors looked on in horror as flames and smoke spread across the building.
One such neighbor and resident of the apartment complex is Sekyron Kelly who was quoted as saying, “I saw the building, like, the top of the building, just engulfed in flames. It was crazy.” Kelly lives in an apartment nearby. She went on to say “I saw firemen rushing in the apartment, police officers, you know, telling everybody to stand back.”
Weather conditions were an added challenge for firefighters during Sunday’s fire.
"It was very windy last night," Clay said. "When you have a wind-driven fire in a big building like this, it can get going really quick. Which is what happened."
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(Credit: Screen grab from video)
As of Monday afternoon, the Red Cross has provided hotel accommodations, comfort kits, and financial assistance for seven of the 15 families, according to Murnahan.
Many Red Cross volunteers were worried for the children displaced.
Fortunately, volunteers with the Red Cross were in Fort Worth to offer relief assistance to fire victims within hours.
Brian Murnahan, spokesperson for the Red Cross said, "Imagine that one of your Christmas stories is, hey, I, I went to bed Christmas Eve, but I got woken up before Santa was able to arrive. And I had to immediately evacuate my apartment. I mean, that's not a Christmas story that we want anybody to have.” Murnahan concluded by saying "And so, we want to make sure that their Christmas Day is much better than their Christmas Eve."
Murnahan said, "Those of us that were here last night, we saw two families that had children. And so there was a desire from all of us that we wanted to try to do more.I reached out to a couple of friends. So far, they have come back with a $500 gift card for each of those families. And that is from Montgomery Strategies out of Fort Worth."
One of the recipients was Luis Moreno and his wife have two children, the Moreno family from Venezuela, 7-year-old Arantza, and 5-year-old Aaron.
Fortunately, the family of four was not home at the time of the fire. However, they stood silent in the parking lot as they watched the flames rip through and destroy their apartment, along with all of their belongings.
Luis and his family said they are thankful for the ability to spend more time at the hotel thanks to the monetary donation from Montgomery Strategies as it affords them an extended stay.
Investigators from the fire department's Arson and Bomb Team are determined to uncover the cause of the fire and have allocated as many resources to the matter as possible. This remains an ongoing investigation.
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