Dallas firefighters said someone intentionally started a two-alarm fire at the LGBT resource center in South Dallas. Firefighters said they responded to a call about the fire at the center in the 1800 block of Peabody Avenue at about 6 a.m. Friday where they extinguished the fire within an hour with no injuries.
Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans told the local NBC News affiliate that investigators determined the fire to be arson-related.
“The fire was determined to be incendiary in nature, and was set at some point at the rear of the building,” he said.
The facility is operated by Abounding Prosperity, Inc. Representatives for the organization said the facility is heavily damaged, and that will affect the services that they can offer to people in the community. Services included HIV testing and resources.
No further details have been released.
Dallas Fire-Rescue investigators asked anyone with information about the incident to call them at 214-670-4312.
A GoFundMe Page has been setup to recover the losses from the fire:
Abounding Prosperity Inc.’s Community Center located at 1816 Peabody Ave. in South Dallas, experienced a severe fire. “Luckily no staff or clients were present at the time and thankfully no one was injured,” said Kirk Myers, AP, Inc.’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer. Myers said that the damage will have an effect on some of the services that AP, Inc. provides. “This community center is an important operation in AP, Inc.’s mission to assist individuals living with HIV/AIDS and other communities that are at risk for contracting the virus. The Community Center is also a place where members of the LGBT community gain access to computers for a variety of needs including employment, educational, and insurance; in addition to those who use the safe space just to fellowship” said Myers.
The AP, Inc. Community Center has been serving the needs of the LGBT community since 2005. Since opening, this center has seen over 1,500 clients annually. This incident will temporarily displace a large portion of the agency’s programming. Testing, counseling, support groups, linkage services, and other support services for Dallas’ most at-risk populations will continue at AP’s Headquarters located at 2311 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd also in South Dallas.
Any gift, large, small, in-kind, monetary, or otherwise would be greatly appreciated. In-kind donations can be dropped at the main office Monday-Friday 9 AM-6PM. The agency will need to replace computers, the entire community library, furniture, and other drop-in space items.
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