As a Dallas firefighter and paramedic, Paulo Bicahlo is trained and ready to rescue people. But when smoke from a fire at the Plaza Latina mall reached a pet store there Friday, he and his crew jumped in to help what animals they could.

More than 500 pet shop animals were killed in a fire that erupted at a shopping center in Northwest Dallas on Friday morning, officials said. Three individuals who were inside the building during the fire escaped safely without injuries.

Dallas Fire-Rescue said a total of 579 animals, mostly birds, died. At least a dozen others were rescued and treated in the parking lot.

A Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesperson says in a statement that the 579 animals in the pet shop at Plaza Latina in Northwest Dallas died from smoke inhalation Friday morning.

Dallas Animal Services removed a total of 579 animals, including small birds, chickens, hamsters, two dogs and two cats.

Dallas Fire-Rescue said the fire caused moderate damage to the home and is believed to have started near the back of it. The exact cause will remain undetermined pending the Medical Examiner's final ruling on the victim's cause of death, DFR said.

Dallas authorities are investigating what caused a fire that burned a Dallas shopping center Friday morning and killed more than 500 animals. CW39's Sharron Melton explains.

A total of 579 animals died from smoke inhalation after a fire broke out in a shopping center in Dallas, Texas, last week. According to multiple media outlets, the tragic two-alarm fire occurred at the Plaza Latina Bazaar,