Yesterday, on Woodland Drive turned chaotic when a two-alarm blaze tore through a two-story North Dallas home, heavily damaging the property, displacing a family of four, and sending a firefighter to the hospital for evaluation. Flames pushed into the attic, forcing crews to abandon their interior attack and switch to pounding the house with water from the outside while investigators worked to figure out how the fire started.
Dallas Fire-Rescue units were dispatched around 11:39 a.m. after a 911 caller reported flames at a home in the 6800 block of Woodland Drive, according to WFAA. Crews arrived to find flames racing up the side of the house, already licking at the eaves and spreading into the attic. A second alarm was struck at about 12:02 p.m., and commanders declared the fire out at 12:53 p.m., the outlet reported.
Family Runs Clear, Firefighter Hurt
Two adults and two children inside the home managed to escape before crews could make entry and were not injured, Dallas Fire-Rescue said, according to FOX 4. As conditions inside the structure deteriorated, commanders pulled all firefighters out and shifted to a defensive approach, flooding the home from the exterior to knock down the blaze.
One firefighter suffered a non-life-threatening lower-extremity injury and was taken to a local hospital for evaluation. The department says he is expected to be OK, a bit banged up but in stable condition after the high-heat, high-stress response.
Investigators Zero In On Outside Wall
Dallas Fire-Rescue investigators believe the fire started on an outside wall and then tracked up into the attic, though the exact cause is still under review, according to CBS Texas. Crews and investigators continued combing through the charred structure, looking for patterns in burn marks and debris that could confirm where and how the flames first took hold.
Another Tough Hit In A Brutal Fire Season
The Woodland Drive blaze is the latest in a string of serious structure fires Dallas crews have faced in recent weeks, including a large December apartment fire that left dozens of residents displaced, as covered by The Dallas Morning News. In early February, a separate house fire resulted in a death, part of a grim winter stretch for firefighters already stretched thin, NBC 5 reported.
Dallas Fire-Rescue says it will share more details once the Woodland Drive investigation is complete and is asking anyone who captured photos, video or has information about the blaze to contact the department, officials told WFAA. Crews remained on scene for hours as investigators worked into the afternoon, making sure the fire was fully out and the evidence preserved.
