7 people, including 4 firefighters, injured in Dallas apartment explosion; 3 firefighters critical

Paul Randall was feeding his daughter when a loud explosion shook his entire apartment.

“Everybody was outside. I saw one of the firefighter men. I guess he was in there when it blew up,” he recalled. “All his clothes and the whole house were just on fire.”

Randall says he saw two people severely injured, including a firefighter, and another firefighter crawling out of the burning building.

“He was like, ‘Help!’ But no one wanted to go over there because the other apartment was gonna blow. It looked like it was gonna blow,” he recalled.

The blast shattered windows on neighboring buildings. It was felt by other surrounding residents several blocks away, throwing debris into a nearby field.

Cee Cee Thomas lives across the street.

“I was in my bed sleeping,” she recalled. “I just heard a boom, then it shook the apartment. It was like it shifted.”

Jason Evans with Dallas Fire-Rescue says the initial call was for a possible gas leak.

“When we got here during the course of investigating where the smell was coming from, then the explosion occurred,” he said.

DFR has not yet determined the cause of the explosion, but Atmos Energy representatives were on scene a short time later.

Firefighters were initially unable to get near the collapsed building safely to see if anyone needed help.

“The western end of the building suffered significant damage,” Evans said. “There does appear to be charring in some of the area that indicates the initial explosion there were flames enough to cause charring.”

Evans says no one will be allowed back inside until the building’s structural integrity can be determined.

DFR is also investigating resident claims about smelling gas in the area for hours.

“We are aware of what residents are reporting after we got here there was a gas smell that originated as early as last night,” Evan’s said. “That seemed to take place after the incident police responded to.”

So far, everyone has been accounted for, but it’s unclear how many are displaced.

“We’re going to do everything we possibly can to make sure anyone who needs shelter, who needs food, water, anything, gets it,” said Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson.

At this time, no evacuations have been made. However, several residents say they do not feel safe staying there and are choosing to stay with friends or family. Those who lived in the building that partially collapsed will not be allowed back in any time soon.

The Red Cross is on scene assisting displaced families.

DFR says local, state and federal agencies will be investigating the explosion to determine its cause.

The fire department and doctors are optimistic all three critically injured firefighters will survive and make a full recovery. The other firefighter that wasn’t as badly hurt has already been released from the hospital.

The four civilians hurt are being treated at the hospital but do not have life-threatening injuries.

After the blast, the ambulances rushed to Parkland Hospital Trauma Center, the area’s premier burn unit.

The firefighters were investigating the smell associated with a natural gas leak around the front of the complex when the explosion took place. Based on how close they were to the explosion, you can imagine possibly every type of injury from broken bones to a punctured long or having breathed in the natural gas during the exposure explosion or even burns.

Mayor Johnson, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia and Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Dominique Artis have been at Parkland for most of the day now.

“As any chief will tell do when you hear a mayday call from firefighters, my heart sinks. Because that means somebody’s trapped or inured,” Chief Artis said. “And like we do as firefighters, the muscle memory kicks in of our training. Our men and women were so brave in the efforts they did today. Those incoming crews as well as some civilians were about to get our men out of the rubble.”

All of the injured firefighters were from Station 25 and were riding on the same apparatus.

The president of the Dallas Firefighters Association also went to the hospital. Firefighters in plain clothes and in uniform have been going there as well to lend support and be near their coworkers who now are battling injuries.