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2 people, 1 cat rescued from Brownsville house fire

2 people rescued from Brownsville duplex fire
2 people rescued from Brownsville duplex fire 02:07

BROWNSVILLE - A mother and son were rescued from a house fire early Tuesday morning in Brownsville.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said they received a call about the fire around 1 a.m

Andy Santos, who lives in the other half of the duplex at NW 24 Avenue and NW 61 Street, said she woke to the smell of smoke. She went outside to see her neighbor trying to get her adult son out of the burning home through a window to no avail. That's when she jumped in to help.

"I opened the first door and I just pushed the other one and it opened," said Santos. "She went inside to try and get him out but he's very big, he's like a 23-year-old boy, so she could not pull him out. She tried but she got burned all over herself. The police made her come out and we waited for 10 minutes for firefighters to come and they pulled him out finally."

When firefighters arrived at the duplex they were met with heavy smoke and flames.

"Immediately upon arrival, we initiated search and rescue operations. We did a search and found a victim in the back room. We removed the victim and worked on the victim until the victim was taken to the hospital," said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's Rafael Carillo. 

The man's mother was taken to the hospital as well.

Three cats were in the home, but only one was saved.

The residence suffered serious damage from the fire and smoke, and the kitchen ceiling partially collapsed.

What sparked the fire is under investigation.

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