One dead, 25 displaced in Fort Worth apartment fire on Christmas Eve

The Fort Worth Fire Department confirmed the death of a woman after flames broke out at an apartment complex on Christmas Eve.

"Our two patients, they are two adults. An adult female and adult male. The adult female has passed away,” Kyle Clay, spokesperson for the Fort Worth Fire Department, said.

The woman’s name or age has not been made public by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.

According to the Fort Worth Fire Department, firefighters responded to the 600 block of King George Drive just before 8 p.m. Sunday after reports of a fire. Officials said upon arrival at the apartment complex, they observed smoke emanating from one of the units.

Two others were injured, including a firefighter.

“The adult male was taken to Parkland... he is still in critical condition. We did have a firefighter received this minor injury, like a knee injury last night while fighting fire.”

Neighbors looked on in horror as flames and smoke spread across the building.

“I saw the building, like, the top of the building, just engulfed in flames. It was crazy,” Sekyron Kelly said. Kelly lives in an apartment nearby. “I saw firemen rushing in the apartment, police officers, you know, telling everybody to stand back.”

An investigation is underway following an apartment complex fire on Christmas Eve in Fort Worth that left over a dozen people displaced and three injured, including a firefighter.

Fort Worth Fire said Sunday’s weather conditions were an added challenge for firefighters.

"It was very windy last night," Clay said. "When you have a wind driven fire in a big building like this, it can really get going really quick. Which is what happened."

The fire resulted in the damage of 16 units and left 25 people displaced.

Within hours, volunteers with the Red Cross were in Fort Worth to offer relief assistance to fire victims.

"Imagine that one of your Christmas stories is, hey, I, I went to bed Christmas Eve, but I got woken up before Santa was able to arrive. And I had to immediately evacuate my apartment. I mean, that's not a that's not a Christmas story that we want anybody to have," Brian Murnahan, spokesperson for the Red Cross said. "And so, we want to make sure that their Christmas Day is much better than their Christmas Eve."

According to Murnahan, as of Monday afternoon, the Red Cross has provided hotel accommodations, comfort kits, and financial assistance for seven of the 15 families.

However, some Red Cross volunteers worried for the children displaced.

"Those of us that were here last night, we saw two families that had children. And so there was a desire from all of us that we wanted to try to do more," Murnahan said. "I reached out to a couple of friends. So far, they have come back with a $500 gift card for each of those families. And that is from Montgomery Strategies out of Fort Worth."

One of the recipients was the Moreno family from Venezuela. Luis Moreno and his wife have two children, 7-year-old Arantza and 5-year-old Aaron.

The family of four was not home at the time of the fire. However, they stood silent in the parking lot as they watched the flames rip through their apartment.

Luis witnessed the moment two neighbors were pulled from the flames. He said it shifted his perspective. He was thankful to be alive and knew their material belongings could one day be replaced.

Luis and his family said they are thankful for the monetary donation from Montgomery Strategies as it buys them more time at the hotel.

The fire department's Arson and Bomb Team continues its investigation to determine a cause.