FORT WORTH, Texas — Two person was killed, and more than 20 other Fort Worth residents were displaced from their apartments, after a fire broke out in their building on Christmas Eve, officials said.
Just before 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve, the Fort Worth Fire Department said, its dispatchers received multiple calls reporting a fire in an apartment building on the 600 block of King George Drive in Fort Worth's east side.
Upon arriving at the scene, firefights saw heavy smoke emanating from the building and began fighting the blaze, officials said.
At the same time, officials said, other responders searched for victims inside of the building, eventually finding two patients who were pulled outside of the complex and provided medical care.
Both victims were transported to local hospitals with life-threatening injuries, the fire department said. One of those was later pronounced dead later Dec. 25 and the second died Dec. 27, the Fort Worth Fire Department confirmed.
A firefighter was also taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries, officials said.
The blaze was elevated to a 2-alarm and then 3-alarm designation before being put out in a little over an hour. Windy conditions made the fire more difficult to smother, a department spokesperson said.
In all, 25 residents in the complex were displaced from their apartments. The American Red Cross of Greater North Texas helped those tenants secure hotel rooms.
Smoke severely damaged tenants' belongings, they told WFAA Saturday. Some visited the complex to remove or throw away their things.
The cause of the fire has not been released, and remains under investigation, according to the fire department.