FORT WORTH — A woman and her dog were displaced from their southwest Fort Worth home, and near the Medical District half of the units in an old apartment complex were damaged when fires broke out within 24 hours.
Four people sustained minor injuries and 18 people could not return to their apartments Thursday night after a fire at 2008 Hemphill Street took out 10 units, said Lt. Kyle Falkner, a fire department spokesman. Investigators had not determined how the fire started. Ten of the Elizabeth Place Apartments 20 units were either destroyed or heavily damaged, he said.The American Red Cross was assisting displaced people.The 911 call came in at 5:16 p.m. Firefighters had the one-alarm blaze under control within 30 minutes, fire officials said.A five-month-old baby and a 2-year-old child were transported to Cook Children’s Medical Center for treatment of minor smoke inhalation, Falkner said.A 67-year-old woman was taken to a hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation, and a fourth person with minor injuries was treated at the scene, he said. Firefighters know to expect an uptick in fire calls with the first cold snap as heaters are turned on for the first time in months, said Lt. Gregg Russell, a Fire Department spokesman.“Not properly maintained space heaters lead to a lot of fires,” Russell said.A malfunctioning heater may have sparked a one-alarm house fire Wednesday night that destroyed a home in southwest Fort Worth.A woman and her dog escaped the blaze in the 6600 block of Firestone Road in the upscale Mira Vista subdivision, fire officials said.When firefighters arrived about 10 p.m., the house was engulfed in flames. Strong wind spread the flames through the house, Battalion Chief Mark Hunka said in an email.The fire destroyed the house, which was valued at $462,000, according to the Tarrant Appraisal District.Russell recommended that homeowners have qualified service technicians inspect their heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems before the winter season. Apartment managers should be responsible for inspecting individual units.Also fireplaces and chimneys should be inspected, and flues and dampers should be open before fires are lighted, he said. The cause of both fires is still under investigation.Monica S. Nagy, 817-390-7792 Twitter:@MonicaNagyFWST Domingo Ramirez Jr., 817-390-7763 Twitter: @mingoramirezjr
