A 7-year-old boy who was rushed to a hospital after being injured in an apartment fire in east Dallas has died, fire officials say.[[390472591,C]]
The fire started at about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Solana Ridge Apartments located in the 8000 block of Chariot Drive.
When firefighters arrived, neighbors were screaming that there were people still inside the building, according to Dallas Fire-Rescue Spokesman Jason Evans. Soon after, they found Fabian Pena unresponsive in the building. Paramedics immediately began administering CPR and transported him to a hospital.
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Fire officials said Pena died Thursday night.
His mother and her infant son suffered non-life threatening injuries, but were taken to a hospital for evaluation, Evans said. They are expected to be ok.
The Pena's mother told investigators she could smell the odor of gas inside her apartment before the fire started. Witnesses also reported hearing at least one explosion before the fire.
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Residents said the complex has had issues with its gas system. A letter was sent to residents on Aug. 5 that said "Solana Ridge is currently in the process of having repairs done to the gas line in your section of the property.We are turning off your stove during this repair and will return once repairs are complete. We will return to turn your stove back on."
Atmos Energy crews were on scene shortly after the fire working throughout the complex. In a response to questions from NBC 5 over what work the utility had done and is doing at the complex an Atmos Energy spokeswoman said, "After a thorough check of the natural gas system that serves the area, Atmos Energy has concluded that its system remains safe."
"They keep saying they're working on it, but how long (do you all) have to work on it. It's people without gas here," said Matanya Evans, whose apartment suffered smoke and water damage.
Matanya will be staying with her sister, Misty Williams, who lives on the opposite side of the complex. The pair and their neighbors said they're fed up with the ongoing maintenance issues. Since the Aug. 5 letter was posted Williams said residents have been unable to cook and had just regained access to hot water.
"It came back on last night and we had hot water. They were supposed to re-hook it up so we could cook on our gas stove," she said.
The apartment's management staff would not respond to questions from NBC 5.
Two firefighters were treated at the scene. One was overcome by the heat and the other suffered a minor injury to his hand. They are both expected to recover.
Evans said a total of six apartments were directly impacted by the fire, with the number expected to increase once officials factor in smoke and water damage. An unknown number of residents have been displaced.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
