HOUSTON — A mother and her two children died early Wednesday when their west Houston apartment building was destroyed by a massive fire, HFD said.
The call came in around 4 a.m. from the 12700 block of Whittington Drive near Dairy Ashford that a three-story building was on fire, and flames could be seen for miles.
It turned into a two-alarm response as the fire spread rapidly throughout the building with heavy smoke, and recovery operations continued for several hours.
As firefighters worked to put out the flames as they spread from unit to unit, the third floor of Building 12 collapsed, according to the Houston Fire Department.
The three victims, a woman and her two sons, around ages 10 and 14, were all in the same apartment unit, HFD said. The woman had a disability and was in a wheelchair.
"Three tragedies, it's difficult to accept that we couldn't get to them in time enough," said HFD Deputy Chief Bryan Sky-Eagle. "The fire spread and heavy smoke was so fast."
"It really breaks my heart because I used to see her all the time and I used to see her boys all the time," said a neighbor.
What's left of the building collapsed as firefighters continued to douse the flames.
Multiple apartment units were destroyed and several families were impacted.
It wasn't immediately clear what caused the fire. The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office and HFD arson investigators are working to determine the cause.