All known residents of a Dallas apartment complex are accounted for following a fatal five-alarm explosion on Thursday, Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Ball confirmed during a Friday press conference.
The blast at the 19 rented residences left three people dead, including two women and a child, and injured five others.
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Firefighters conducted an extensive search of the building until approximately 2 a. m.
Friday utilizing drones, cadaver dogs, and manual operations to ensure no victims remained trapped.
"There is nobody unaccounted for, or we'd still be searching.
We've had no one come to us and say our family member is missing right now," Ball said.
First responders arrived within two minutes of the initial gas leak call and were executing standard safety protocols when the building detonated.
"They did everything they were supposed to do right before they were going to enter and evacuate the complex.
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Then it exploded.
And, I would say if it had exploded a minute later, this would be a much worse situation," Ball said.
The department's rapid tactical response also prevented the fire from consuming an adjacent building, avoiding additional potential casualties.
"The building next door, if it was not for our firefighters' fast response and tactics, that almost certainly would have gone up in flames also, and there'd be a lot more casualties," Ball added.
Emergency operations have shifted to investigating the precise origin and trigger of the natural gas explosion.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the ongoing investigation alongside the Dallas Fire-Rescue arson division.
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An attorney representing the apartment building owner stated that a subcontractor ruptured an Atmos gas line while boring for soil samples prior to the blast.
