Dallas Fire-Rescue officials stated on Friday that everyone believed to have been living at the Oak Cliff apartment complex destroyed in Thursday’s deadly explosion has now been accounted for as investigators continue working to determine what caused the blast.
Fire Chief Justin Ball said crews searched through the debris until about 2 a.m. Friday before resuming operations later in the morning using drones, cadaver dogs, and urban search-and-rescue teams.
“Per our records, there is no one unaccounted for,” Ball said at a news conference on Friday.
The explosion occurred Thursday afternoon at The Clyde apartment complex near the intersection of Patton Avenue and East Ninth Street in southern Dallas. Officials said three people were killed, including two women and a child.
Dallas Fire-Rescue said the two-story building contained 22 units, with 19 occupied by families at the time of the explosion.
Five other people were hospitalized following the blast. Officials said one victim remains in critical but stable condition, while the other four suffered non-life-threatening injuries and are expected to recover.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office has not publicly identified the victims. However, relatives told Fox 4 KDFW that Marisol Perez and her 18-month-old son, Erick, were among those killed. Family members said Perez’s 10-year-old daughter escaped the building and was later reunited with relatives.
Friends and family members also believe longtime Dallas County Democratic Party precinct chair Sylvia Collins was the third person killed in the explosion. Collins had been reported missing after the blast.
“Sylvia is a tireless advocate for our community. We are holding Sylvia, her family, and all those who love her close in our hearts as we await more information,” the Dallas County Democratic Party wrote on social media, Fox 4 reported.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said authorities were still working to formally identify the victims.
“We’re going through the process of ID-ing those folks. They were autopsied this morning. We’ll get more information shortly on that,” Jenkins said, per Fox 4. “And our hearts go out to the families, and we won’t be announcing publicly the names of the people until we’ve notified next of kin.”
Officials said firefighters had responded to a reported gas leak at about 12:47 p.m. Thursday. According to Ball, Engine 15 arrived within two minutes and immediately began standard safety procedures, including securing the scene, connecting to a water source, and requesting additional resources.
Ball said firefighters were preparing to evacuate residents when the explosion occurred roughly 10 to 15 minutes after crews arrived.
“No time was wasted,” Ball said, according to WFAA. “They got here really fast; did everything they are supposed to do.”
Questions had emerged about whether the building could have been evacuated before the blast. Ball defended the firefighters’ actions and said crews followed protocol.
“This is a tough job,” Ball said. “They performed a lot of heroics yesterday. Nothing was done wrong.”
No first responders were injured.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation. Ball said the National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation with assistance from Dallas Fire-Rescue and other federal agencies.
“It’s time to find out why it happened,” Ball said.
