New Castle Teen Helps Neighbor Escape Fire
NEW CASTLE (KDKA) -- An elderly woman escaped a fire in her New Castle home and she's thanking her 15-year-old neighbor for saving her life.
The fire broke out Tuesday morning.
Charlene McMasters, 74, told KDKA's Brenda Waters that something woke her up.
When she opened her bedroom door, she saw smoke and realized her house was on fire.
She crawled out of the second floor window, sat on the ledge and yelled for help.
Her neighbor, Justin Ritchie, and his mother, heard her and jumped into action.
"I was sleeping and everything and heard my dog barking … and then I heard someone yelling, 'Help me!'" Ritchie said.
"He ran and got a ladder. He put it up against the house and he said, 'Ma'am, this ladder is no good. ...'
"And I took a couple of steps down on the ladder and it busted in half and I hit the ground really hard. I fell about 10-feet," McMasters said.
Charlene broke a few bones. She spent a day in the hospital and is now with her son.
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