A reported gas leak set off a massive explosion and four-alarm fire at the El Ricardo apartment building in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas on Thursday.
The blast tore through the structure at 409 E. 9th Street, sending heavy flames and a thick column of smoke into the sky.
At least four people were taken to hospitals. Officials confirmed fatalities at the scene but had not released a total as crews worked through the wreckage.
Nearly 100 firefighters responded. Dallas Fire-Rescue brought the fire under control and then shifted into recovery operations.
Dallas Fire-Rescue posted the official scene update as crews continued working the apartment explosion:
@DallasFireRes_q out at 409 E. 9th St. on 4-alarm fire/apartment explosion. Fire under control. Family reunification at Adamson HS. Incident is still ongoing….
— DALLAS FIRE-RESCUE (@DallasFireRes_q) May 28, 2026
Dallas Fire-Rescue posted a scene update directing families to a reunification center at W.H. Adamson High School.
The department described an active and ongoing incident, with the fire under control but work continuing on the ground.
CBS News Texas reported on the response and the early account of what may have triggered the blast.
Investigators had not confirmed a final cause as of the latest updates.
KERA News covered the scale of the fire and the scramble to account for residents.
Fox News also posted video showing the scale of the fire and smoke coming from the building:
A massive explosion and fire ripped through an apartment building in Dallas, sending heavy flames and smoke into the air and injuring at least four people.
Nearly 100 firefighters rushed to the scene in the city's Oak Cliff neighborhood. It's not clear how many people were in the building at the time.
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 28, 2026
The Oak Cliff Advocate reported on the fire from the neighborhood it serves.
Video from the scene showed the moments after the explosion, with fire pouring from the building and smoke visible across the area.
The toll could change as recovery work continues and officials confirm the number of dead.
For now, the focus stays on the residents still being accounted for, the families waiting at Adamson High School, and the firefighters who ran toward the flames.
The Gateway Pundit first flagged the dramatic video and mayoral response:
A massive explosion and fire tore through an apartment building in Dallas’ Oak Cliff area.
Early reports said multiple people were injured as firefighters rushed into a large, fast-moving response.
The incident drew nearly 100 firefighters to the scene, according to the initial Fox News video shared by the outlet.
Video showed flames and thick smoke pouring from the apartment building as crews worked around the structure.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said he was monitoring developments closely.
Johnson said his prayers were with the injured, their families, and those who suffered loss.
He also said Dallas Fire-Rescue personnel responded swiftly and continued fighting the fire.
ADVERTISEMENTA family reunification center was established at the W.H. Adamson High School gym.
The early injury-only framing changed as local officials later confirmed fatalities, though no final number had been released.
The important reader note is that the situation developed quickly, so the first video reports captured the scale of the fire before officials finished the harder work of accounting for every resident.
CBS News Texas added the local timeline and address details:
The explosion happened at 409 E. 9th Street.
That address corresponds to the El Ricardo apartment building in Oak Cliff.
The building sits east of Bishop Arts, north of the Dallas Zoo, and south of downtown Dallas.
Dallas Fire-Rescue said crews were called to a gas leak at about 12:47 p.m.
The explosion happened shortly after crews were dispatched to the area.
ADVERTISEMENTBy 2:30 p.m., 71 units were on scene for a four-alarm incident.
The department said 115 firefighters responded.
At least four people were transported to hospitals.
Methodist Dallas Medical Center said one patient there was in good condition.
Parkland Health said one transported patient there was also in good condition.
Deputy Chief Mark Berry confirmed fatalities but said the department could not yet confirm the number.
Atmos Energy said a construction crew unrelated to Atmos damaged a natural gas pipeline near 409 E. 9th Street, according to the report.
Natural gas service in the immediate area was shut off while the investigation continued.
KERA News reported the latest casualty and school-adjacent details:
At least four people were hospitalized after the Oak Cliff apartment explosion.
KERA reported an unidentified number of people were killed in the major fire.
Dallas Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief James Russ said crews were called to a gas leak near East 9th Street and Patton Avenue at about 12:47 p.m.
Crews arrived at about 12:49 p.m.
The response was quickly upgraded to a second-alarm fire.
The apartment complex is across the street from W.H. Adamson High School.
Dallas ISD said everyone at the school was safe.
The district also said no students were on campus when the incident happened.
A family assistance center was set up at the high school.
At a 5 p.m. update, officials said they were still confirming which residents were accounted for.
Mayor Eric Johnson said the city would do everything it could to help affected families.
Oak Cliff Advocate tracked the neighborhood-level response:
Firefighters were dispatched to the 400 block of East 9th Street Thursday afternoon.
The initial call was for a reported gas leak.
The dispatch call came at about 12:47 p.m., and crews arrived about two minutes later.
The response grew beyond a second alarm and was later described as a five-alarm fire.
Officials said the fire was contained while crews continued searches.
Drones were used to canvass the area for additional victims.
The 5 p.m. update confirmed that an explosion had taken place.
Officials also said the response had shifted from rescue mode to recovery mode.
Fatalities were confirmed, but officials said the total would not be released until the recovery phase advanced.
The neighborhood report also placed the scene near W.H. Adamson High School, where officials had already set up family reunification.
That local detail matters because families were not just waiting for fire updates; they were waiting for word on who had made it out and who was still unaccounted for.
Dallas Fire-Rescue on X posted the official scene update:
Dallas Fire-Rescue posted from the scene at 409 E. 9th Street.
The official update described the incident as a four-alarm fire and apartment explosion.
The department said the fire was under control.
Families were directed to Adamson High School for reunification.
The department made clear that the incident was still ongoing.
The photos posted with the update showed firefighters working through smoke, debris, and heavy structural damage.
Those images match the scale described by local outlets and the department’s large response.
The update did not close the incident or suggest the danger had fully passed for the families waiting on answers.
Instead, it established the key official facts at that moment: the address, the four-alarm response, the apartment-explosion framing, the fire-under-control status, and the reunification location.
That is why the post is useful beyond the photos.
It gives readers an official anchor while the casualty count and cause investigation continue to develop.
Fox News on X posted video from the scene:
The Fox News video showed heavy smoke and flames coming from the Dallas apartment building.
The video described a massive explosion and fire in the Oak Cliff neighborhood.
Fox said at least four people had been injured in the early reporting window.
The network said nearly 100 firefighters rushed to the scene.
The video also noted that it was not yet clear how many people were inside the building when the explosion happened.
Later local updates confirmed the story had turned deadly while officials continued the recovery work.
The video is important because it shows why the response escalated so quickly.
From the air, the building was already producing heavy flames and smoke while water streams hit the structure.
That visual context helps explain the scale of the fire department response and why officials were cautious about releasing a final toll before crews could safely work through the damaged building.
The early video captured the fire; the later local updates captured the human cost.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
