Dallas High-Rise Catches Fire

Jan. 2, 2006
Firefighters said high winds could have made the situation much worse.

Dallas firefighters battled flames in a high-rise building in downtown on Tuesday night.

Smoke was seen pouring from the 9th floor of a 10-story building on the corner of Akard and Elm streets that was under renovation.

The building is being developed into downtown housing with a possible retail center on the first floor.

Firefighters said high winds could have made the situation much worse.

"If this fire had started at two or three in the morning, where everyone was sleep instead of having people awake, this really could have been something terrible," said Lt. Joel Lavendar with the Dallas Fire Department.

Investigators said a cutting torch started the fire in the building. The fire was contained to the 9th floor where flames, smoke and water caused about $200,000 in damage.

"We're extremely fortunate that the scaffolding didn't catch on fire with the wind conditions we have right now. We can't even say how happy we are we had just the fire that we did," said Lavendar.

No one was injured in the fire.

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