Elderly woman, man injured in fire in Fort Worth retirement community, officials say
An elderly woman and elderly man who reside in a small north Fort Worth retirement community were injured Tuesday morning when a fire broke out inside of their apartment, according to the fire department.
A third person was treated for minor injuries, according to Matt Zavadsky, a MedStar spokesman. He didn’t immediately have information on this patient.
The elderly woman was hospitalized with minor burns to her arms and hands, fire department spokesman Mike Drivdahl said over the phone. The man was taken to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters responded to the fire in the 5600 block of Creekside Circle a little after 5 a.m. Tuesday. They received reports en route there were possibly oxygen tanks inside the apartment, heightening “our sense of awareness,” Drivdahl said. Oxygen tanks pose a safety threat, he said, but also indicate there’s one person or more with a medical issue.
The single-story building that was on fire was split into four separate units. The flames, Drivdahl said, were coming from the front bedroom of one of the units.
It only took about 15 minutes for firefighters to get the fire under control, he said.
The elderly man and woman had been able to get out on their own before firefighters arrived.
“Because they were not on scene when I arrived on scene, I was not able to ask them if they were alerted by smoke detectors or how they were alerted to the fire,” Drivdahl said. “But it obviously goes into talking about the fact that working smoke detectors make a big difference in being able to survive an incident like this.”
The woman and man will be displaced due to the significant fire, smoke and structural damage their apartment sustained on Tuesday morning, Drivdahl said.
Photos from the fire department show gaping holes in the front of the impacted apartment, with beige paneling turned black. There were piles of debris in the front yard.
All of the contents of the apartment were a “total loss,” Drivdahl said.
Some of the other units were damaged by smoke or water but it was minor, he noted. He believes, at this time, no one else will be displaced as a result of the fire.
