FORT WORTH, Texas – Fort Worth firefighters battled a large fire at an apartment complex on the west side of the city on Tuesday morning. About 100 people were displaced.
What we know:
The fire broke out around 6 a.m. at a two-story apartment building in the 6700 block of Calmont Avenue, which is near Interstate 30 and Green Oaks Boulevard.
Images from nearby traffic cameras and FOX 4 crews at the scene showed the building fully engulfed in flames. Residents said the flames then jumped from one building to another.
Three alarms were sounded, meaning dozens of firefighters were called to the scene.
At least one firefighter was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation, but he is already back on the job.
Four residents were also treated after breathing in the thick, black smoke. Two of them were taken to the hospital as a precaution.
What they’re saying:
Firefighters estimate that roughly 50 apartments were impacted, with more than 100 people out of their homes.
“A lot of pain. Our faith and hope has been destroyed today. Our only material things we have can be replaced,” said Billy Johnson, who lives at the complex.
“It’s just crazy because everybody just lost everything,” added another resident. “And we just moved in two weeks ago so we just lost everything. We literally just put all of our eggs in this basket.”
Some residents expressed concerns about an electrical overload causing the fire due to too many people trying to stay cool during this summer’s intense heat.
“The units they gave us did not receive no kind of break because the units are so small to where they couldn’t really cool us off. We kept them going 24-7,” Johnson said.
Guadalupe Jamarillo, another resident displaced by the fires, says the apartment gave out portable air conditioning units.
“They kept saying, ‘it’s getting fixed, getting fixed’. But nothing,” Jamarillo said. “This weekend, Friday, you’d turn on the lights in the restroom, and you’d smell something like a short circuit.”
Trinity Metro buses will reportedly take the residents to a temporary shelter set up by the American Red Cross.
Large fire destroys Fort Worth apartments
An aggressive fire destroyed an apartment complex in west Fort Worth early Tuesday morning. The fire also displaced multiple families and sent at least one firefighter to the hospital.
What we don’t know:
It’s going to be quite a while before investigators can determine the cause of the fire. They are still focused on controlling the hot spots.
“Sometimes you’ll see that dark smoke come back a little bit. We’re trying to figure out in some of these areas if there may be a double roof. And so we’re still working on all of that right now,” said Craig Trojacek, a spokesman for the Fort Worth Fire Department.
Big picture view:
Thick black smoke was visible on Interstate 30 near Green Oaks Road. Traffic reporter Chip Waggoner said the smoke was leading to some backups and traffic delays.
The Source: The information in this story comes from the Fort Worth Fire Department and a FOX 4 crew at the scene of the fire.