Dallas Fire-Rescue responds to an apartment complex fire in the 400 block of east 9th Street, on Thursday, May 28, 2026 in Dallas.
NBC 5/KXAS
Officials said at least three people died and several were injured after an explosion caused a colossal fire at an apartment building in north Oak Cliff Thursday afternoon.
Crews were digging by hand through debris late Thursday, looking for more victims in what officials described as a traumatic search effort. The cause of the explosion is under investigation, but officials reported a construction crew may have damaged a natural gas pipeline nearby.
Onlookers watch as Dallas Fire-Rescue responds to an apartment complex fire in the 400 block of east 9th Street, Thursday, May 28, 2026, in Dallas.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
A person gets treated by Dallas Fire-Rescue officials nearby an apartment complex fire in the 400 block of east 9th Street, on Thursday, May 28, 2026 in Dallas.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
Smoke emits from an apartment complex fire in the 400 block of east 9th Street, on Thursday, May 28, 2026 in Dallas.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas Fire-Rescue works to extinguish an apartment complex fire in the 400 block of east 9th Street, Thursday, May 28, 2026, in Dallas.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas Fire-Rescue responds to an apartment complex fire in the 400 block of east 9th Street, on Thursday, May 28, 2026 in Dallas.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert speaks during a press conference regarding an apartment complex fire in the 400 block of east 9th Street, on Thursday, May 28, 2026 in Dallas.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert speaks during a press conference regarding an apartment complex fire in the 400 block of east 9th Street, on Thursday, May 28, 2026 in Dallas.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team to Dallas to investigate the explosion, according to a post on X Thursday night.
Article continues below this ad
At about 12:45 p.m., more than 40 Dallas Fire-Rescue units — and 100 firefighters — were dispatched to a 911 call for a gas leak at the apartment building known as The Clyde in the 400 block of east 9th Street, near Patton Avenue. While responders were en route to the location, an explosion occurred, according to officials. The call turned into a five-alarm fire after the boom rocked the neighborhood.
DFR Assistant Chief James Russ said the department responded within two minutes of the initial call. Officials said more than 20 fire department vehicles and 115 emergency responders were on scene as of 5 p.m. By 6 p.m., the fire was contained but there were still hot spot flare-ups, according to the fire department.
A young girl is given a hug after being escorted from scene of a fire in Oak Cliff, on Thursday, May 28, 2026.
Michael Cuviello/The Dallas Morning News
Jason Evans, a Dallas Fire-Rescue public information officer, told reporters at an 8 p.m. news conference that two women and a child were killed during the incident. They did not confirm their identities Thursday night.
Article continues below this ad
Five people were taken or went to hospitals after the explosion, Evans said. Three were taken by emergency crews, including one person who was in critical but stable condition Thursday. The other two patients took themselves to the hospital with minor, non-life-threatening injuries, and had either been released or were expected to be released by the end of the night.
“This was enormous,” Evans said of the explosion.
Atmos Energy turned off natural gas service in the immediate area, according to a statement from the company, and had technicians onsite with responders. Evans said Dallas Fire-Rescue had heard reports that a construction crew unrelated to Atmos damaged a natural gas pipeline, but said that issue would be part of the investigation.
The fire department’s focus at the scene was on life safety and controlling the emergency, Evans said. He wrote in an email he did not know which company the construction crew belonged to but said the city of Dallas “had no involvement with what was going on in front of the property.”
Article continues below this ad
Ghassan “Gus” Khankarli, director of the Dallas Department of Transportation and Public Works, confirmed that the city had no ongoing construction in the area at the time of the explosion and subsequent fire.
Evans told reporters crews remained in a recovery phase and had begun excavating parts of the building as they continued searching for additional victims. Officials said police drone teams were also searching the remnants.
Heavy equipment was brought to the scene to tear down part of the building that remained standing, Evans said, while firefighters were using tools and their own hands to dig through the debris.
Evans grew emotional during the Thursday night news conference as he described the search efforts’ emotional toll on first responders, particularly with the possibility that families and children were inside the building.
Article continues below this ad
Jason Evans, Public Information Officer of Dallas Fire-Rescue informs about the fatalities from an apartment complex fire in the 400 block of east 9th Street, on Thursday, May 28, 2026 in Dallas.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
“When these first responders have to dig through that debris and they find some of the things they find, it’s extremely traumatic,” Evans said through tears.
The search was not complete as of Thursday evening. Evans said officials had searched about 35% to 40% of the building by hand about an hour before the briefing. He said crews could find additional victims as the work continued.
Related: ‘It sounded like a bomb’: Oak Cliff residents describe explosion that shook homes
Shortly after 3:15 p.m., Dallas officials, including Mayor Eric Johnson, held a news conference addressing a growing crowd of onlookers. Johnson encouraged the city, state and nation to come together and pray for the Oak Cliff residents affected by the tragedy.
Article continues below this ad
“We are going to do every single thing that we can do, that we need to do, to make sure that every family gets support,” Johnson said
A family reunification center has been established at W.H. Adamson High School. The fire department also evacuated residents from a neighboring apartment complex to the east and a small house to the west, according to officials. Residents displaced or otherwise affected by the explosion have been provided hotels by the city, Evans said.
“Please do not go to the fire scene,” police officials wrote in a post on X. “All families should go to the high school for assistance and more information.”
Onlookers watch as Dallas Police and Fire respond to an apartment building fire in Oak Cliff, on Thursday, May 28, 2026.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
Kevin Oden, director of the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Crisis Response, said residents or family members looking for reunification information can call 311. Oden said the city had staff monitoring those calls through a special social services response.
Article continues below this ad
Dallas Fire-Rescue will to remain at the scene overnight and into Friday to continue the search, preserve the scene for the investigation and secure the property, Evans said.
Sylvia Lagos arrived at the apartment complex expecting to meet a friend for lunch. Instead, she found streets blocked off, crime scene tape going up and flames coming from the building where her friend lived.
Lagos said she had been trying to reach her friend.
“I was just very devastated,” Lagos said. “I had been calling and calling, and no answer at all.”
Lagos said someone showed her a video circulating on social media, and she recognized the part of the building where the friend lived. What she saw, Lagos said, was overwhelming.
What to know: Oak Cliff apartment complex fire, explosion
Lagos described her friend as a hard worker, a private person and a precinct chair with the Democratic Party, had spent the previous week working on campaigns, she said. Lagos said she spoke with her friend the night before, and she told her she was tired and planned to rest.
“She had a lot of friends, so we all care for her very, very much,” Lagos said. “When I first got here and saw what was happening there, I was just beside myself.”
Officials had not released the names of those killed or unaccounted for as of Thursday evening.
As emergency crews continued to work the scene, Lagos said she was still waiting for word about her friend.
“I’m still holding out for hope,” Lagos said. “You never give up until confirmation.”
Dumonique Douglas, 40, said she had just gotten home from her sister’s house when she heard a “big kaboom” before a blast of debris pushed into her living room.
Her daughter, Zamariea Washington, 19, was covered in it, screaming. The two rushed out of the front door, though they couldn’t see much through the smoke, she said. Once outside, they could only see flames.
“I didn’t have a phone, shoes on — I didn’t have nothing,” Douglas said. “All I could do was think. It happened that fast. Fight or flight, I had to go.”
Emergency response took about four to five minutes, she said. She saw at least eight of her neighbors, and though they seemed physically OK, they were distraught and leaning on each other for support.
Dallas Fire-Rescue responds to an apartment complex fire in the 400 block of east 9th Street, Thursday, May 28, 2026, in Dallas.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
Washington was taken to the hospital with a leg injury, damage to her face and a headache, Douglas said.
Onésimo Mendoza said he was asleep inside the building when he was jolted awake by what he first thought was a plane crashing.
After waking up, Mendoza said he saw two teenage girls on top of rubble and began trying to escape. He said he was cut while climbing out and left behind his belongings, including his cell phone.
Mendoza said he had noticed work being done on the street before the incident, including what appeared to be jackhammering.
Nora Carmona said she rushed to the scene after her mother called and told her authorities couldn’t find her sister and young nephew.
Carmona said her sister, 37, and 1½-year-old nephew had been inside the apartment building where the fire broke out. A niece, 10, was found and appeared physically unharmed.
Her mother was taken away by ambulance, Carmona said.
“I just hope they’re OK,” Carmona said.
Nearby residents look on as Dallas Fire-Rescue works to extinguish an apartment complex fire in the 400 block of east 9th Street, Thursday, May 28, 2026, in Dallas.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
The last inspection at the apartment building by Code Compliance was on April 28, 2023, resulting in a score of 100. There are 20 units and one building, according to city documents.
Records show the site is part of “Rosette Park,” a proposed more than 80-unit apartment complex. The property is zoned for multifamily housing and was approved by the Dallas City Council on Feb. 11 for a Resolution of Support to pursue state tax credits for affordable housing.
No code enforcement records for the address were found in the city’s online database.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Staff writers Maria Ramos Pacheco, Everton Bailey Jr., Lola Jahant and Sana Muneer contributed to this report. Staff photographer Elías Valverde also contributed.