WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (WFLA) — An elderly woman was rescued by her neighbors after she fell trying to escape her house fire Friday afternoon.
Firefighters were called to the home at 1411 4th St. NE around 1:35 p.m. When crews arrived, they saw flames shooting from the two bedroom windows of the home where an elderly woman lives with her brother.
The woman was the only one home at the time of the fire, the Winter Haven Police Department said. As she tried escaping, she fell. When neighbors noticed the fire, they rushed to the house, kicked the door down, and rescued the woman who was on the floor.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames when they got there.
The police department said the fire appears to have started in a back bedroom, but the cause is still being determined.
“This takes the phrase, ‘Neighbors helping neighbors’ to a whole new level,”
said Public Safety Director Charlie Bird. “These neighbors risked their own
lives to help someone in a desperate situation and prevented her from
suffering significant injuries.”
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