Dallas

Dallas Condo Fire Cause Could Remain Mystery

Firefighters believe the hot spots are likely all snuffed out after more than two days of fighting fire at the Preston Place condos off Northwest Highway in Dallas, but there's still a lot of work to be done and mysteries to be solved about the fire that reached seven alarms at one point early Saturday.

On Monday, Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said that investigators are working to determine how stable the four-story condo structure is so that next steps for the building can be figured out.

The fire that slowly crept through the building caused much of the structure to collapse, already burying most of what was inside those condos.

Residents continued to stop by the site on Monday to assess the debris from afar, many concluding that their belongings inside were likely total losses.

Among those belongings were the vehicles many residents had parked below the structure in a gated garage beneath the building. That currently sits flooded with water from the fire fight.

Evans said it's unclear if the structure will be stable enough to get the vehicles out anytime soon.

The more pressing matter for most Monday was a body discovered inside the building, very near the unit of missing 89-year-old resident Jacqueline McDonald.

Investigators have not yet identified that body to the public.

Dallas City Councilwoman Jennifer Gates, who represents the district where the condos are located, said Monday that a security fence will soon go up around the wreckage to keep people a safe distance away.

For now, Evans said Dallas police and fire personnel will keep a regular presence at the building.

The cause of the fire is a mystery, and could remain a mystery due to the instability of the building and the massive damage inside.

Dallas Fire-Rescue says there was no sprinkler system in the building, but one wasn't required at the time it was built.

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