On 3rd January (local time), tragedy struck a pet shop at Plaza Latina Bazaar in Northwest Dallas as over 550 animals died in a shopping centre fire. The fire broke out at the shopping centre in the morning. All the animals reportedly died due to smoke inhalation. Most of the animals in the pet shop were small birds. The shop also deals in exotic animals but none of them were found during the rescue operation.
Multiple exotic animals are dead after a two-alarm fire today at Plaza Latina, a bazaar along Harry Hines Blvd. in NW Dallas. @DallasFireRes_q crews rescued almost two dozen animals (dogs, pigs, turtles, hamsters), who are now being cared for by @DallasShelter. @CBSNewsTexas pic.twitter.com/04nemoU15Z
— Dawn White (@DawnWhiteNews) January 3, 2025
Speaking to the media, Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesperson Jason Evans said that 579 animals in the pet shop at Plaza Latina in Northwest Dallas died from smoke inhalation. The flames from the fire never reached the animals. However, all of them inhaled deadly smoke, leading to the tragedy. The dead animals included chickens, hamsters, two dogs, and two cats.
In a post in Spanish on Facebook, Plaza Latina Bazaar wrote, “Unfortunate situation we had today morning, we ask for your prayers for all the families who work here, hoping to be back firm, to give them the attention your family deserves.”
Around 45 firefighters reached the spot at around 11 AM to extinguish the fire. Evans said, “While DFR personnel did search and attempt rescue, all the animals in the shop unfortunately perished due to smoke inhalation.”
As per reports, Dallas Fire-Rescue was dispatched to a 911 call for a structure fire at the shopping centre at 9:12 PM When the firefighters reached the spot, they encountered heavy smoke and fire. A second-alarm response was requested after assessing the situation, leading to additional firefighters arriving at the scene. It took them around two hours to control the fire.
The shopping centre houses around 50 businesses, ranging from restaurants and candy shops to a tattoo parlour and an insurance agency.
No people were injured in the incident. However, the structure of the shopping centre was severely damaged, and a part of the roof collapsed. An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.
