Dallas firefighters responded to an unexpected blaze inside the remnants of the old Valley View Mall Friday night, the third case of a fire at the derelict building in 2023.
Dallas Fire-Rescue responded to several fires at the former shopping center late Friday night and required aerial water ladder trucks to extinguish the flames due to difficult-to-locate fire hydrants and challenges in safely entering the decrepit structure, Fox 4 KDFW reported.
The first call came in around 11 p.m. DFR extinguished those fires just before 2 a.m.
The Dallas fire crew remained on the scene for another hour and a half afterward to monitor the situation in case further action was needed, according to the Fox 4 timeline.
No injuries were reported relating to the blaze, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to Dallas Fire-Rescue.
The incident marked the third time firefighters have battled a fire at the 300,000-square-foot building, a problem District 11 Council Member Jaynie Schultz has grown tired of addressing.
In February, city council members labeled the rundown site a “habitual criminal property” due to repeated incidents of criminal mischief.
Schultz has repeatedly argued that the problem should be simple to address, but instead, the City of Dallas is losing billions of dollars in tax value because of the property.
“Our firefighters being hurt was enough of an argument to the state that there was a mortal danger to leaving the building standing as is,” Schultz said after two firefighters were injured in March, according to The Dallas Morning News.
“There must be 24-hour security, there must be lighting, there must be fencing,” she told Fox 4 following Friday’s incident.
Local developer and Valley View land owner Scott Beck, CEO and president of Beck Ventures, suggested that development delays and issues result from local politicians’ indecision.
“Since the Valley View Mall won’t even be there in a couple months, [added security measures] really has rendered itself a moot point,” Beck said, per Fox 4.
Irving-based demolition contractor Lindamood Inc. is handling demolition work on the former mall, according to information obtained by The Dallas Express in response to the fire that occurred in mid-March.
The Dallas Express reached out to both Beck and Schultz for additional information or comment on the latest incident but did not receive a response from either by press time.