Flames Force 96 Year Old Woman From Miami Home
MIAMI (CBS4) - Fire forced a 96 year old woman out of her home Wednesday evening. Firefighters say the blaze started when she plugged a space heater into an outlet with several other appliances and overloaded the circuit.
Everything is blackened and burned inside the home at 345 Southwest 15th Avenue where Estrella Aviles lived for nearly 40 years. A home she loves and didn't want to leave even after it caught fire.
Neighbor Lourdes Gonzalez saw the fire from her window.
"It really scared me because of her because I didn't know if somebody was able to take her out of the house or not and I started asking people did you see the lady did you see the lady," said Gonzalez.
Guadelupe Montenegro who cares for Aviles says she saw the fire in the bedroom and knew they had to leave the house, but Aviles says she didn't want to leave until the firefighters arrived. She wanted to make sure her house didn't burn down.
"The lady who was taking care of her was screaming and asking for someone to help take her out of the house because she was grabbing stuff she refused to get out," Gonzalez explained.
"The screams from this caretaker were heard by some bystanders outside who came in and helped this woman get this lady out," Lieutenant Ignatius Carroll of the Miami Fire Department added.
It will be awhile before Aviles can go back to the home she loves so much.
But neighbors say they're thankful she made it out in time.
"Things can be replaced," said Gonzalez. "Thank God the daycare person was with her and everything was ok."
