Man Uses Cast On Arm To Get Into House And Save Neighbor From Fire
(CNN) -- A man with a broken arm proved not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes they wear casts.
Altavious Powell used his cast to smash a window and get into his elderly neighbor's house in Miami Gardens, Florida, as it was burning on Monday night, CNN affiliate WSVN reported.
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Powell said he ran toward the home of his neighbor, identified by WSVN as 93-year-old Maria Cabral, when he smelled smoke. He started hitting a window with his cast and a plastic chair until the window broke and he was able to get in.
Powell said he found Cabral in the hallway by her bathroom. She was alone.
"I grabbed her with one arm," Powell said. "She looked back at me and she just said 'thank you.'"
Miami-Dade Fire rescue told CNN that when the firefighters arrived at the scene, they found smoke coming from the one-story home but no visible flames. Once crews were inside they determined Powell had put out "the main body of the fire."
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The fire department is still working to confirm the cause of the fire. A relative of Cabral told WSVN the woman usually lights a candle in a corner of her home and that night, the flame caught on the wall and spread throughout the house.
Cabral was taken to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, Miami-Dade Fire said. As for the broken-armed hero, he was evaluated at the scene but did not require treatment.
Powell said he's known Cabral most of his life.
"She watched me grow up since I was a little boy," Powell said.
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