DALLAS — A tea candle triggered a three-alarm fire at a Lake Highlands apartment building Tuesday afternoon.
The fire damaged four units at the Sun Colony complex at Royal Lane and LBJ Freeway.
Investigators said a resident in a first floor unit was lighting a tea candle when it ignited a potted plant, spreading to the rest of the bedroom. The flames then got inside the walls of the building and moved to the second story.
The tenant who was lighting the candle was taken to Baylor University Medical Center for treatment of smoke inhalation and minor burns; he was in stable condition.
Kellii Ford lost everything but the bathrobe she was wearing. "My car keys, my phone, that can be replaced," she said. "But my clothes? And my photo album my mother just gave me?"
Dallas Fire-Rescue said firewalls in the two-story building were effective in keeping the flames from spreading.
The American Red Cross was at the scene to assist displaced tenants.
