Family torn apart by fire
Deaf couple awaken too late; mother, 2 children die in W. Dallas
12:55 AM CST on Monday, January 10, 2005
By MATT STILES / The Dallas Morning News
Tyrus and Sephra Burks wouldn't have heard the smoke detectors that sounded early Sunday morning when a fire sparked inside their West Dallas apartment.
LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN
Amber Pierce, who knew the Burks family from church, visited the scene of the fire Sunday. The deaf couple likely didn't notice the blaze until it raged inside. They and their four young children struggled in the few seconds they had to escape, fire officials said.
Mr. Burks, 26, barely made it out, jumping with two of his children from a second-story window. Inside, firefighters found the bodies of Mrs. Burks, 25, and the couple's two youngest children. The mother held Viviana, 10 months. Antonio, 3, lay nearby.
"We're thinking they didn't realize until it was too late," said Capt. Jesse Garcia, a Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman. "She was definitely trying to save her children."
The family's dog also died in the fire.
Investigators aren't yet sure what started the three-alarm blaze, but they ruled out arson and any electrical cause. The flames reached high into the sky and could be seen for miles around Dallas's Ledbetter neighborhood as the sun rose Sunday.
The fire spread quickly across the Burkses' tan-brick, two-story building at the Colonia Tepeyac Apartments in the 5800 block of Bernal Drive. The flames, smoke and water destroyed six units and damaged two others, displacing dozens of residents. The damage was estimated at $100,000, fire officials said.
It took 60 firefighters about an hour to douse the burning structure. Mr. Burks, who could not be reached for comment, was treated for minor burns and smoke inhalation and later released from Parkland Memorial Hospital. Sons Michael, 6, and Tyrus Jr., 7, weren't hurt.
"They're doing OK. They're just asking a lot of questions," Mr. Burks' sister, Tomeka Davis, said of the boys.
No one else was injured.
The fire and the tragic results stunned residents at the large complex just north of the intersection of Loop 12 and Interstate 30. As the fire engines pulled away about 10 a.m., many neighbors lingered at the edge of a flooded grass courtyard fronting the Burkses' charred apartment.
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Video: Michael Rey reports
"This is some kind of loss," said Rosalyn Lowe, a friend and neighbor who communicated with the couple using basic sign language. "I can't believe it."
Representatives from the American Red Cross were there to help the displaced residents because apartment complex officials said there were no vacant units available. Some residents had family members who could help them.
And a Farmers Branch church that the two eldest Burks children attended also pledged to help residents.
"We just wanted to come over and see what we could do," said Cheryl Wiley of Christian Center Assembly of God Church, which buses about 50 children from the complex to services each Sunday.
The fire canceled Sunday's bus ministry. But even before the morning services began, church leaders started collecting blankets, food and clothing for the victims' family and those left homeless by the fire.
Tyrus Burks and his two elder boys, Michael (left), 6, and Tyrus Jr., 7, were spared by the apartment fire that claimed his wife, Sephra, along with Viviana, 10 months, and Antonio, 3. Many windows and doors in the fire-damaged building, which had 12 units in all, remained open so Sunday morning's cool air could clear out the smoke. A few residents packed or dragged soaked belongings outside.
Vinh Le, who lives directly behind the Burkses' apartment, said firefighters broke through a wall in his room as they battled the blaze. Most of the 13-year-old's belongings, including the uniforms he was to wear today to Henry W. Longfellow Academy, were damaged by sooty water.
"I'm really sad about the people next door," he said, dipping his black sneaker into a murky puddle on his living room tile.
His mother's boyfriend, Daryl Wright, said that he's grateful the fire didn't spread, potentially hurting or killing others.
"We can get over what happened here," he said, "but a death – that would be terrible."
That's now the reality for the Burkses' extended family.
Mrs. Burks' sister, Marie Adame, drove down from Sherman on Sunday after learning of the fire. She and Mr. Burks' father, Larry, and numerous other relatives gathered at a family home a few miles away from the apartment complex.
Tearfully, they recalled the Burkses as active and devoted to their children. That they couldn't hear drew them together years ago at Samuell High School. They had been a couple ever since, marrying in 2000.
"They were very much in love, and they had wonderful children," Ms. Adame said.
Larry Burks said the couple, after trying many years, had been elated to finally have a daughter, Viviana.
"She's gone now," he said, his voice wavering.
He said his son, a manager at an area distribution company, told him the fire seemed to begin downstairs.
His son said he then woke Mrs. Burks before grabbing the two eldest boys. Mrs. Burks took their younger children, he recalled.
His son dropped the children out the window to a neighbor, he said. When he couldn't see his wife amid the smoke and heat, he jumped, too.
"He thought she was right behind," Larry Burks said. "She wasn't there."
Staff writer Holly Yan contributed to this story.
E-mail mstiles@dallasnews.com
RESOURCES
Anyone wishing to donate to the families can contact the American Red Cross in Dallas at 214-678-4800 or the Christian Center Assembly of God Church at 972-243-4081.
Tyrus Burks and his two elder boys, Michael (left), 6, and Tyrus Jr., 7, were spared by the apartment fire that claimed his wife, Sephra, along with Viviana, 10 months, and Antonio, 3.
Deaf couple awaken too late; mother, 2 children die in W. Dallas
12:55 AM CST on Monday, January 10, 2005
By MATT STILES / The Dallas Morning News
Tyrus and Sephra Burks wouldn't have heard the smoke detectors that sounded early Sunday morning when a fire sparked inside their West Dallas apartment.
LOUIS DeLUCA / DMN
Amber Pierce, who knew the Burks family from church, visited the scene of the fire Sunday. The deaf couple likely didn't notice the blaze until it raged inside. They and their four young children struggled in the few seconds they had to escape, fire officials said.
Mr. Burks, 26, barely made it out, jumping with two of his children from a second-story window. Inside, firefighters found the bodies of Mrs. Burks, 25, and the couple's two youngest children. The mother held Viviana, 10 months. Antonio, 3, lay nearby.
"We're thinking they didn't realize until it was too late," said Capt. Jesse Garcia, a Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman. "She was definitely trying to save her children."
The family's dog also died in the fire.
Investigators aren't yet sure what started the three-alarm blaze, but they ruled out arson and any electrical cause. The flames reached high into the sky and could be seen for miles around Dallas's Ledbetter neighborhood as the sun rose Sunday.
The fire spread quickly across the Burkses' tan-brick, two-story building at the Colonia Tepeyac Apartments in the 5800 block of Bernal Drive. The flames, smoke and water destroyed six units and damaged two others, displacing dozens of residents. The damage was estimated at $100,000, fire officials said.
It took 60 firefighters about an hour to douse the burning structure. Mr. Burks, who could not be reached for comment, was treated for minor burns and smoke inhalation and later released from Parkland Memorial Hospital. Sons Michael, 6, and Tyrus Jr., 7, weren't hurt.
"They're doing OK. They're just asking a lot of questions," Mr. Burks' sister, Tomeka Davis, said of the boys.
No one else was injured.
The fire and the tragic results stunned residents at the large complex just north of the intersection of Loop 12 and Interstate 30. As the fire engines pulled away about 10 a.m., many neighbors lingered at the edge of a flooded grass courtyard fronting the Burkses' charred apartment.
Also Online
Video: Michael Rey reports
"This is some kind of loss," said Rosalyn Lowe, a friend and neighbor who communicated with the couple using basic sign language. "I can't believe it."
Representatives from the American Red Cross were there to help the displaced residents because apartment complex officials said there were no vacant units available. Some residents had family members who could help them.
And a Farmers Branch church that the two eldest Burks children attended also pledged to help residents.
"We just wanted to come over and see what we could do," said Cheryl Wiley of Christian Center Assembly of God Church, which buses about 50 children from the complex to services each Sunday.
The fire canceled Sunday's bus ministry. But even before the morning services began, church leaders started collecting blankets, food and clothing for the victims' family and those left homeless by the fire.
Tyrus Burks and his two elder boys, Michael (left), 6, and Tyrus Jr., 7, were spared by the apartment fire that claimed his wife, Sephra, along with Viviana, 10 months, and Antonio, 3. Many windows and doors in the fire-damaged building, which had 12 units in all, remained open so Sunday morning's cool air could clear out the smoke. A few residents packed or dragged soaked belongings outside.
Vinh Le, who lives directly behind the Burkses' apartment, said firefighters broke through a wall in his room as they battled the blaze. Most of the 13-year-old's belongings, including the uniforms he was to wear today to Henry W. Longfellow Academy, were damaged by sooty water.
"I'm really sad about the people next door," he said, dipping his black sneaker into a murky puddle on his living room tile.
His mother's boyfriend, Daryl Wright, said that he's grateful the fire didn't spread, potentially hurting or killing others.
"We can get over what happened here," he said, "but a death – that would be terrible."
That's now the reality for the Burkses' extended family.
Mrs. Burks' sister, Marie Adame, drove down from Sherman on Sunday after learning of the fire. She and Mr. Burks' father, Larry, and numerous other relatives gathered at a family home a few miles away from the apartment complex.
Tearfully, they recalled the Burkses as active and devoted to their children. That they couldn't hear drew them together years ago at Samuell High School. They had been a couple ever since, marrying in 2000.
"They were very much in love, and they had wonderful children," Ms. Adame said.
Larry Burks said the couple, after trying many years, had been elated to finally have a daughter, Viviana.
"She's gone now," he said, his voice wavering.
He said his son, a manager at an area distribution company, told him the fire seemed to begin downstairs.
His son said he then woke Mrs. Burks before grabbing the two eldest boys. Mrs. Burks took their younger children, he recalled.
His son dropped the children out the window to a neighbor, he said. When he couldn't see his wife amid the smoke and heat, he jumped, too.
"He thought she was right behind," Larry Burks said. "She wasn't there."
Staff writer Holly Yan contributed to this story.
E-mail mstiles@dallasnews.com
RESOURCES
Anyone wishing to donate to the families can contact the American Red Cross in Dallas at 214-678-4800 or the Christian Center Assembly of God Church at 972-243-4081.
Tyrus Burks and his two elder boys, Michael (left), 6, and Tyrus Jr., 7, were spared by the apartment fire that claimed his wife, Sephra, along with Viviana, 10 months, and Antonio, 3.
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