Firefighter hurt in northeast Dallas apartment blaze

DALLAS - A firefighter was hurt Monday morning while battling a two-alarm fire at an apartment complex in northeast Dallas.

Dallas Fire-Rescue got a call just before 9 a.m. about the fire at the Veranda at Midtown Apartments on Melody Lane, near Skillman Street and Eastridge Drive.

By the time firefighters got to the apartment complex, heavy smoke and flames were shooting through the roof. They were forced to work in defensive mode.

"Anytime you see that kind of fire coming from the roof of a building, you want to err on the side of caution,” said Jason Evans with Dallas Fire-Rescue.

One firefighter suffered minor burns on his upper body while trying to put out the flames. He was taken to the hospital for an evaluation but is expected to be okay. No residents were hurt.

Mamassou Kande says it was the fire alarm that woke her up just before 9 a.m.

“I was sleeping. Everything happened so fast,” she said. “When I woke up in the morning, I came outside and I saw the fire. The whole place over here."

Kande’s roof of her apartment is now gone and so are most of her belongings.

Sandra Melendez's friends were at work and have yet to see what they can salvage.

"They're just barely making it, and now the cold season is coming around and work is going down,” she said. “I don't know what they are going to do."

The fire, smoke and water ended up damaging six apartments. The American Red Cross will help those who lived there.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.