Fire leads to gas leak discovery

A kitchen fire on September 18 at Factory Design District Apartments triggered inspections that uncovered an outside gas leak at the 325-unit building in Dallas's Turtle Creek neighborhood.

Building evacuated as precaution

Although no gas was detected inside the five-story building, which was about 90% occupied, authorities shut off power and evacuated all residents as a safety measure.

Leak capped but readings persist

Atmos Energy technicians capped both the primary 16-inch gas main and a parallel 3-inch main on Saturday evening, stopping the active leak. Small gas readings continued outside the building days later.

No return date provided

As of Tuesday, September 22, Atmos Energy has not given residents a timeline for when they can return home, leaving hundreds displaced with no clear answers.

Residents express frustration

Carlton Vernon, who moved in the day of the leak, said he's emailed constantly with no response. Resident Acacia Harris lost months of stored breast milk due to the evacuation.

“I have been emailing constantly. Probably every other hour.”

Belongings retrieval allowed

Some residents have been able to retrieve belongings from inside the building since no gas was detected in the interior, though the evacuation has caused significant disruption.

Atmos offers resources and claims

Atmos Energy says it has made accommodations and offered resources to evacuated residents, directing them to atmosenergy.com/claims to file claims for losses.

Residents grateful for quick response

Despite frustration over the timeline, resident Acacia Harris expressed gratitude that the leak was discovered and that a fire station nearby enabled rapid emergency response.

“I felt grateful as well that in the area that I'm in, I have a fire station literally maybe 100 plus feet away that can get to us pretty quickly.”