By Jon Nielsen
The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS — A fast-moving fire sent residents fleeing an aging apartment complex in Cockrell Hill before dawn Saturday, killing a mother and her child and injuring seven others.
About 130 displaced residents watched from behind yellow police tape as flames and thick smoke billowed from the roof of the two-story brick complex, in the 3900 block of Higgins Avenue near Cockrell Hill Road and Jefferson Boulevard.
Most woke about 6 a.m. to shouting and the sound of shattering glass as people scrambled down stairwells dodging flames. One family trapped in a second-floor unit dropped a child into the arms of a rescuer. A woman broke her legs while jumping from the second story, a witness said.
In their haste to flee the burning building, many residents said they couldn’t remember hearing any smoke alarms going off during the morning blaze. But they said they heard the chaos.
“I heard people screaming, but I thought they were fighting,” said Maria Lopez, 37.
Lopez and seven others in her apartment made a quick getaway. Once she and her family reached safety, she looked back to see others making rescues.
One of those rescuers was Jose Moreno, 29. He escorted his three nephews from his apartment and away from the complex. By the time he returned to help his neighbors, the flames were too intense to enter the building. He went to the back of the complex where he helped a child out of a first-story window. Then he saw a woman and her child hanging from a second-story window.
Moreno and another man extended a ladder to the window and retrieved the child. Then they tried to urge the woman down. As she crawled through the window she cut herself on the broken glass, Moreno said.
With blood running down her arms, the woman lost her footing and fell to the ground, Moreno said. Paramedics took her to the hospital with leg fractures, Moreno said.
“People were desperate; they were trying to get out,” Moreno said, his shirt stained with blood.
As of Saturday evening, investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Dallas County fire marshal had not determined the cause of the four-alarm fire. They said the blaze probably began in the southeast corner of the complex but wouldn’t speculate on its origin.
Authorities confirmed that a woman in her mid-30s and her child had died. Their identities were not known Saturday.
Of the seven injured, five were taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital, one to Children’s Medical Center Dallas and another to Methodist Dallas Medical Center. Their injuries ranged from minor and major burns to fractures, Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said.
The La Villa Roma apartment complex, built in 1963, is valued at about $670,000 according to the Dallas Central Appraisal District. Of the 48 units, 37 were destroyed.
“The building is going to be a total loss,” Evans said.
It was an aging complex with no fire walls that modern apartments must have to pass an inspection in most cities.
A number of residents had complained about fires that they believe were set there intentionally in the past couple of months. Residents had to extinguish a sofa and a stack of mattresses about two months ago, Lopez said.
Cockrell Hill city leaders were unable to provide specific information about past incidents at the complex, but Cockrell Hill Mayor Luis Carrera said he’s had concerns.
“They’ve had a spotty reputation in the past, just code violations,” the mayor said of the apartment management. “A couple of years ago they had an electrical fire. What caught fire inspectors’ eyes were shoddy repairs that were being made.”
The city’s code enforcement officer said there were no pending cases against the complex management.
James Bryant, a maintenance man who lives in the complex, said he heard banging and hollering Saturday morning. He jumped out of bed to turn on the light switch but there was no light. He stumbled through the darkened room to the front door. He said he opened it and flames shot over his head into his apartment.
“The roof was like a solid blaze. It was coming through my door,” Bryant said.
Bryant made his escape barefoot. Several hours later, he watched in a new pair of shoes as firefighters doused smoldering bricks and wood.
As Bryant surveyed the complex from a safe distance, Red Cross volunteers scurried about handing out bottled water and snacks to the displaced. Buses arrived about noon to move the families to a nearby elementary school where they received food, water and medicine.
“We know we have a lot of work ahead of us,” Red Cross spokeswoman Anita Foster said.
Copyright 2010 THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS