WFAA-TV

Firefighters look for hot spots where the roof used to be.

DALLAS — Eight apartments were damaged during a three-alarm fire that sent smoke billowing over Interstate 30 in East Dallas on Friday, said Dallas Fire-Rescue.

The fire broke out about 8:30 a.m. at the two-story brick building and residents were evacuated, said Dallas Fire spokesman Paul Lara. One firefighter got dizzy during the incident, but no other injuries were reported.

Michael Chapman saw the fire as he was driving home from work and called 911.

"When I got there, there was two women out there, and they was trying to get furniture and stuff, get cats out of the house," he said. "We told them, don't go back in there, because something was going to happen to them."

WFAA-TV

Deziree Diaz lost everything in the fire.

Deziree Diaz escaped from her apartment unhurt, but she lost everything in the fire. "Everybody's all right; I'm just missing one cat," she said. "My cat never came out."

At about 10 a.m., firefighters were still monitoring hotspots in the 7700 block of Hunnicut Road.

Traffic on the interstate slowed down a bit from the smoke.

Officials were trying to determine the cause of the fire. The American Red Cross was on the scene to assist those displaced by the fire.

WFAA-TV reporter Cynthia Vega in East Dallas and Dallas Morning News staff writer Kimberly Durnan contributed to this story.