DALLAS — Audelia Camarillo's young children splashed in the outdoor pool at the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Downtown Dallas Thursday afternoon.
Someone looking in would've thought they were on vacation, not sheltering at the hotel after being evacuated from their home due to an explosion within their apartment complex.
"Kids are amazing," Camarillo said. "They just make the best of everything."
Camarillo's family is one of more than 200 households staying in three Dallas hotels. They were given vouchers to pay for their stay for three days, but they don't know what happens after Saturday.
"They haven't reached out," Camarillo said. "They haven't spoken to us."
Brandy and Stephey Leavy, who are staying in the same hotel as Camarillo, said they don't feel safe returning to their apartment, but they don't know what they will do if they can't.
"Our mother is disabled, and it will be just that much harder if we don't know where to go after these two days and we can't go back," Stephey Leavy said.
Arvy Jennings, 62, said he's lived at Highland Hills Apartments for five years, and if a solution isn't offered he worries he will have to go to a homeless shelter.
"It ain't my fault, what happened," Jennings said. "I hope they do something. That's all I can say."
Jennings, the Leavys and Camarillo are among a number of displaced residents who told WFAA Thursday that they had concerns about gas leaks on the property dating back to 2020. Jennings said he started noticing the smell of gas off-and-on more than two years ago.
"We've called the fire department at least five times about a gas leak," Stephey Leavy said.
RELATED: Residents say they smelled natural gas odor night before 'terrifying' Dallas apartment explosion
Dallas Fire-Rescue told WFAA on Thursday that it had not received any calls from the address of the building that exploded Wednesday about natural gas, but couldn't provide information for other buildings.
"People said they've been smelling gas since Tuesday, and they've been reporting it since Tuesday and nothing happened about it," Stephey Leavy said.
Residents also told WFAA their maintenance requests for things like pest control, broken windows and HVAC issues often went ignored and that "negligence" for the smell of gas is just another issue on the list.
They believe the concerns of their community are written off because the complex serves low-income residents that are predominately people of color.
"It's disrespectful," Brandy Leavy said. "I don't think they care how we live."
WFAA has not received a response from the complex management or ownership, though the owner toured the property Thursday afternoon.
Meanwhile, groups like ROAR and The American Black Cross came together to bring clothing and household items to the displaced residents at their hotel. An organizer announced that they are working with the hotels to set up spaces for the donations in each hotel and arse working to get more vouchers for the residents.
Many said they hope that happens, because they don't know what their next move will be otherwise.
"We don't have the money," Brandy Leavy said. "We don't have the income."
If you'd like to help, you can contact ROAR at 682-301-1157 or info@roarinctexas.org.