Fast-moving fire burns northeast Dallas apartments

DALLAS - A large fire caused a lot of damage at an apartment complex in far northeast Dallas Monday morning.

The fire broke out at the Forestwood at the Creek Apartments on Forest Lane around 5 a.m.

At one point, intense flames could be seen coming from the roof of a two-story building.

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FOX 4 spoke to a family that woke up to flames on their back patio. They moved from Kenya and had lived in the apartment for 13 years. 

Their son is a senior at Richardson High School and lost all the things he needs for graduation. He had to use his hat as a mask as he was running out of the building.

Another resident said his neighbor woke him up when the fire began to spread.

"I woke up. My neighbor was banging on the door, banging on the window. I saw the lights kind of through the window. I came outside and saw the fire trucks," said Brian Doupnik, who lives in the complex. "You could see the fire coming from the roof of the one building. One of the neighbors said he woke up around 4 a.m. and called the fire department. He saw it on the patio first, I think."

Fire crews worked defensively to keep the fire from spreading to other buildings. 

Dallas Fire-Rescue said a total of eight units were heavily damaged, and the entire building is now uninhabitable. 

At least 16 people were displaced. The American Red Cross is helping them.

One firefighter suffered a minor injury and was hospitalized. 

Another person was taken to the hospital with an unknown injury.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.