‘It didn’t give us time’: residents tell how they jumped out of windows during a fire in an apartment building

DALLAS — Investigators are working to determine the cause of a fire at an apartment complex that caused several residents to jump out of windows to safety.

The fire broke out around 10:55 a.m. Wednesday at the Las Lomas apartments on Stoneport Drive in Dallas.

“I heard some screams and screams, so I ran out of the house,” neighbor Shun Mathis said.

Neighbors said that the fire started in the corner apartment of building 16. Flames and smoke quickly spread to six apartments in the building.

“Some people started knocking on the door, telling us that the apartment next door was on fire,” Junya Simon explained.

Simon and his wife Nicole Anderson lived next door to the damaged house. They said they had to jump from their backyard to save themselves and their pets when the fire raged.

“I went to try to open the door and the flames just entered the door. Everything was massive, like we didn’t have time,” Anderson explained.

More than two dozen rescuers rushed to the complex. They put out the fire, put out the fires, and threw the burning furniture and debris out of the building in front of the neighbors.

“I lift the window upstairs and jump out of the window. I’m like, catch me, catch me. They got me,” Calebria Jefferson said.

Fire and rescue work was traumatic for Jefferson. The mother of three was in tears when the fire destroyed her home. The family is trying to figure out what to do.

“My children and I have nothing now,” exclaimed Jefferson.

For about an hour, firefighters worked on the burning building. Investigators have not determined the cause of the fire.

The tenants of each of the six apartments in the building had to be relocated as the electricity was cut off.

Investigators said the Red Cross was called in to help residents with their immediate needs.