Marisol Pérez’s sisters Maria Lopez, left, and Rosalinda Martinez are seen during a vigil for Marisol and her son Erik Pérez Jr., Sunday, May 31, 2026, in Dallas. Marisol and Erik Jr. died in the Oak Cliff fire on Thursday.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
Calls, texts and prayers all went unanswered Thursday afternoon — the day Marisol Pérez and her toddler’s Oak Cliff apartment was demolished by an explosion that sparked a five-alarm fire.
Nora Carmona and Maria Lopez, Pérez’s sisters, were both at work when they received a call from their mother saying she had just talked to the police about Pérez’s 10-year-old daughter. Something bad had happened, their mother said.
The sisters clocked out immediately; Carmona went to the apartment complex, while Lopez drove to their mother’s house.
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Shortly before 1 p.m. on May 28, first responders arrived to fight the fire at The Clyde apartments in the 400 block of East 9th Street. Officials said the blaze killed two women and a child — identified by family and friends as Pérez, 38, her 18-month-old son Erik Pérez Jr. and Sylvia Collins, 75 — and injured at least five people.
Marisol Pérez’s husband Erik Pérez, not face to camera, receives a hug during a vigil for Marisol and their son Erik Jr., Sunday, May 31, 2026, in Dallas. Marisol and Erik Jr. died in the Oak Cliff fire on Thursday.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
“I knew my mom, I knew she would be inconsolable. Devastated,” Lopez said. “And I just couldn’t go to the scene…I couldn’t see it.”
Pérez had lived at Clyde on and off for eight years, Carmona said. She would have turned 39 in June.
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Her sisters said she was the picture of innocence; she loved everyone. She was funny, and her laugh was contagious, they said. She had a big heart. All things their family would miss about her most.
Once she was at the scene, Carmona said they had to treat her mother in an ambulance. Pérez’s daughter, Vanessa Pérez, escaped with minor scratches, but Carmona believes she has a long path ahead of her.
“She has a lot of support from us,” Lopez said. “We’re going to care for Vanessa and love her always.” Vanessa will turn 11 on Monday; her first birthday without her mother.
Marisol Pérez’s sisters Nora Carmona, left, and Maria Lopez speak about Pérez as showing a photograph of Pérez and her son Erik Pérez Jr., Sunday, May 31, 2026, in Dallas. Marisol and Erik Jr. died in the Oak Cliff fire on Thursday.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
“It’s just really hard to believe, to process,” Lopez said. “It happened so fast. Sometimes I don’t even believe this is real.”
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The family got a call about 9:30 p.m. Thursday regarding identification for the people who had been found in the wreckage.
After Pérez’s husband returned from a work trip Friday, they submitted a DNA test in hopes of finding out for sure if their sister and her baby could be put to rest, Carmona said. Officials have yet to publicly identify the three fatalities.
The Pérez family held a vigil Sunday at their home in the Bishop Arts district, about two streets away from the wreckage. Around 100 people gathered there, bringing candles, along with flowers in shades of red, yellow and white.
Dozens of photographs of Pérez and Erik sat atop white and silver embossed cloths on the steps of the house. A Mickey Mouse stuffed animal was placed next to the memorial as onlookers approached with blue balloons that read “baby boy.”
Marisol Pérez’s cousin Guadalupe Villa places flowers before a vigil for Marisol and her son Erik Pérez Jr. Sunday, May 31, 2026, in Dallas. Marisol and Erik Jr. died in the Oak Cliff fire on Thursday.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
Both sisters said they want everyone to remember Pérez as a good person and her son as the happy baby they remember him as.
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Since the explosion, the Oak Cliff community has come together to grieve the people who were lost and compile resources for those left without a home.
People held onto each other, as Carlos Quintanilla, who ran for Texas’ 33rd Congressional District in the March 3 primary, led the group in prayer.
“Marisol was a mother, a sister, and a child,” Quintanilla said. “She was a member of this community. We may not be able to bring her and Erik back, but we can bring them justice.”
The latest update, given Friday by Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Justin Ball, assured people that everyone had been accounted for and emphasized the next focus would be investigating the cause. The National Transportation Safety Board is heading the investigation.
Marisol Pérez’s husband Erik Pérez, foreground right, receives a hug during a vigil for Marisol and their son Erik Jr., Sunday, May 31, 2026, in Dallas. Marisol and Erik Jr. died in the Oak Cliff fire on Thursday.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
Sparse but chilling details in a report show that the firm overseeing a soil analysis at the site of the explosion reported a drilling company damaged a gas line near the building.
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Texas811 records reviewed by The Dallas Morning News indicate the damage was caused by a rig boring for soil samples. ECS Limited, a national engineering consulting firm with an office in Carrollton, reported the issue.
Austin-based O-SDA Industries had plans to buy the Oak Cliff property to build low-income housing for seniors. Megan Lasch, the company’s president, said she hired ECS to provide a geotechnical report, in which engineers analyze soil, rock and groundwater conditions before designing foundations.
An ECS Limited spokesperson told The News in an email that none of its employees were on site at the time of the explosion and declined to comment further. Authorities have connected the explosion to a gas leak but have not provided further details.
Family members and friends gather for a vigil for Marisol Pérez and her son Erik Pérez Jr., Sunday, May 31, 2026, in Dallas. Marisol and Erik Jr. died in the Oak Cliff fire on Thursday.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
Carmona said the family has yet to decide on funeral arrangements but will continue honoring Perez and Erik. Both sisters said the apartment’s representatives have been radio silent since the fire.
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Quintanilla said NTSB officials spoke with the family Sunday and said an online preliminary report is expected within the next two weeks.
“We want justice,” Carmona said as tears gathered in her eyes.
“They didn’t deserve this,” Lopez added.