![]() ![]() “I personally don’t ever want to go back ,” the teenager said. Marquez Wilson said it seemed unlikely his family would not be returning home any time soon. “We’re going to do everything we possibly can to make sure anyone who needs shelter, who needs food, who needs water, who needs anything, gets it,” Mayor Johnson said. There is nothing, they have nothing,” said Green, who founded her organization to address the toxic effects of a nearby superfund site.īy the time children started arriving home at the end of the school day, the American Red Cross had already begun setting up a canteen to feed people and an emergency shelter at a nearby recreation center.Īccording to the Dallas Office of Emergency Management, about 300 residents were displaced. She grew up in the neighborhood, she said, and knows that many people struggle to get by under normal circumstances. Olinka Green from the Highland Hills Community Action Committee rushed to the area to begin coordinating food and drinks and helping residents figure out where to go for help. "We have found no indication that our system was involved."īy midday, local organizations and neighbors had sprung into action, organizing to help displaced residents.Ĭommunity journalist Smash Da Topic began making call-outs on social media for donations of diapers, toiletries and other essential items to help people get through the next few days. "Atmos Energy has verified that our system is operating as expected," the company said in a statement. No evidence has been presented to suggest the company could have prevented the explosion at the Highland Hills Apartments. In 2018, a 12-year-old girl was killed when her family’s home exploded in northwest Dallas.Ītmos Energy, the natural gas company, knew about leaks in that neighborhood months before the fatal explosion. Natural gas explosions have proved fatal in recent years. “We’re very fortunate, so far,” he said, pledging that the city is, “going to take very seriously ascertaining the cause of this, and getting to the bottom of that and making sure that it doesn’t happen again.” The timing of the event may have helped: most children were at school and many adults had left for work. KERA News The blast also launched a massive response and an ongoing multi-agency investigation.Įventually, the fire department used drones to survey the wreckage and at least one dog to search for any remaining residents No one died in the blast.Īfter reviewing the damage, Mayor Eric Johnson said it was lucky that no one had died. The extensive damage and instability of the partially collapsed building made it impossible for the fire department crews to enter the building for several hours, according to officials. Wilson said she was treated by paramedics and was okay. “My mother was right when it happened, and so she got hit by glass shards, and her whole leg was just bloody,” Wilson said. Marquez Wilson, a 14-year-old who lives in a different building in the complex, said the explosion blast shattered the windows in his family’s apartment, spraying glass. More people sustained minor injuries, though exactly how many is unclear. Evans described the four civilians’ condition as stable.Īmid the charred wreckage, furniture, decorations and belongings from inside the 10 apartment units were visible. One firefighter was released Wednesday afternoon. Three of the firefighters remain in critical condition, according to Dallas Fire Rescue. The blast sent eight people to the hospital – four firefighters and four civilians. He said it sounded like a bomb.Īfter the explosion, Butler said he saw one firefighter who appeared to have been thrown across the courtyard by the force of the explosion and severely injured.īutler said he and other residents fled the complex for fear of further explosions. Paul Butler, who lives in an adjacent building in the complex, said he was feeding his baby at the time. Windows in nearby buildings were shattered and debris sprayed in all directions, some of it landing in an empty field across the street, dozens of yards away. Not long after that, an explosion tore through the building, igniting a massive blaze and collapsing one side entirely. “When our firefighters arrived, they went to investigate an apartment building near the entry gate in the complex where there was a strong smell of gas,”Jason Evans, a spokesman for Dallas Fire Rescue, said. The complex is located near Bonnie View Road and Simpson Stuart Road, a half-mile from Paul Quinn College. Residents of the the community called 911 shortly after 10 a.m. The explosion at the Highland Hills Apartments was caused by a natural gas leak, according to Dallas police. ![]()
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