Dallas apartment explosion: man rescues young girl from fire

DALLAS - A Dallas man says he was able to save a young girl's life before her apartment was engulfed in flames caused by the explosion in Oak Cliff.

Man saves young girl from explosion

Man describes saving young girl from apartment explosion

Dallas resident Rodney Brown describes his effort to save a young girl from the Dallas apartment explosion to FOX 4's Amelia Jones.

Dallas resident Rodney Brown tells FOX 4's Amelia Jones he pulled a young girl out of the apartment complex.

He says the girl, between 10 and 13, was taken by first responders to the hospital.

"She was a baby," Brown said. "My instinct was that I seen her and I wanted to help."

Brown says the victim told him her mother and siblings were in the apartment complex, but he was unable to return to the apartment after the fire had spread.

He described three explosions, and was able to rescue the girl after the first explosion.

Dallas apartment explosion

What we know:

The fire was reported around 1:15 p.m. near the corner of East 9th Street and North Patton Avenue.

Dallas Fire-Rescue confirmed there were three fatalities from the explosion. Two women and a child were killed.

At least four people have been taken to a hospital for treatment.

Three fatalities confirmed in Dallas apartment explosion | FULL PRESSER

In a press conference on Thursday evening, Dallas Fire & Rescue have confirmed that at least three people were killed in the Oak Cliff apartment explosion, and one of the victims was a child.

Crews are expected to remain overnight to continue recovery efforts. Residents who have been displaced will be provided hotel accommodations for the night.

Sources told FOX 4 that DFR crews were en route to the location to investigate reports of a gas leak when the explosion occurred.

Images from SKY 4 showed a small apartment complex that was fully engulfed in flames. The windows on neighboring buildings appeared to be blown out and debris was scattered across the street. There also appeared to be a utility truck that was affected by the fire.

A large plume of black smoke was initially visible in Dallas for miles.

At about 3:30 p.m., DFR upgraded its response to five alarms with more than 100 firefighters.