DALLAS — Investigators are working to determine what caused a fire at an apartment complex that sent some tenants jumping from windows to safety.
The fire happened around 10:55 a.m. on Wednesday at the Las Lomas Apartments on Stoneport Drive in Dallas
“I heard some hollering and screaming so I ran out the house,” said neighbor Shun Mathis.
Neighbors said the fire started in a corner unit in building 16. Flames and smoke quickly spread across the six apartments in the building.
“Some people started banging on the door telling us that the next apartment was on fire,” Junya Simon explained.
Simon and his wife, Nicole Anderson, lived next door to the damaged home. They said they had to jump from their back patio to save themselves and their pets as the fire roared.
“I went to try to open the door, and the flame -- it just came in the door. It was all big, like, it didn’t give us no time,” Anderson explained.
More than two dozen emergency workers rushed to the complex. They extinguished the fire, put out hot spots, and tossed burning furniture and debris from the building as neighbors watched.
“I lift the window up upstairs, and I jumped out the window. I was like, catch me, catch me. They caught me,” Calebria Jefferson said.
The fire and rescue efforts were traumatic for Jefferson. The mother of three was in tears as the fire destroyed her home. The family is struggling to figure out what to do.
“Me and my kids don’t have nothing now,” Jefferson cried.
Firefighters spent nearly an hour working on the burning building. Investigators have not determined the cause of the fire.
Tenants from each of the six units in the building had to be relocated, since power was shut off.
Investigators said the Red Cross was called to help the residents with their immediate needs.