Fire crews continue to look into the cause of a two-alarm apartment fire that displaced multiple families on Wednesday in Grand Prairie. Flames broke out at about 3:30 p.m. at The Fairways Apartments near State Highway 360.
On Thursday, Assistant Fire Chief Bill Murphy said they believe the fire started at a second floor unit.
"Fire marshals on scene right now, they’ve already ruled out that the fireplace had anything to do with it," said Murphy. "So we’re concentrating our efforts on possibly electrical. So they’re looking into the walls and the attic. The resident was home when it started, and she was unaware of anything because it was in the attic over her head. So that’s where all our efforts are right now."
The fire marshal took a few minutes to escort Jesse Koehler, whose father lived in one of the burned units, to help find his father's cancer medication.
"He's disabled and cancer-stricken and is in desperate need of his cancer medication," Koehler said.
Koehler said seeing the destruction up close made him realize how fortunate everyone was to make it out safely.
"Devastating but the one thought that keeps running through my head is the fact that he could've not gotten out," he said.
Other residents will have to wait a bit longer before they’re allowed back into their homes to retrieve their belongings. Murphy said the investigation must be completed first. He also said the building will eventually be bulldozed because it’s being considered a total loss.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Winter-like weather conditions made battling the blaze tough on firefighters.
“We had flames through the roof, so it almost went defensive automatically just because of the amount of fire and how far it progressed,” said Murphy. “Our biggest adversary, I would say, was going to be the wind. It fanned the flames and it affected our master streams from our aerial devices also.”
Investigators no longer believe the fire started from a fireplace, as previously thought. Still, they urge North Texans to take extra precautions before turning on their fireplaces for the first time this winter.
