Ben Madilynn
SUNRISE, FLA. (WSVN) – Fierce flames forced a family to make a desperate escape from their home in a Sunrise neighborhood, leading crews to come to the rescue of a woman who became trapped.
Homeowner Linda Chiotis broke in down in tears when she spoke with 7News on Sunday. She said one of her cats did not make it out of the burning house, located near North Pine Island Road and Northwest 26th Street.
“I had her for 23 years. I pulled the bird out of the house and saved her, but I couldn’t save everybody. I couldn’t save them all,” she said.
Now Chiotis, who did not want to appear on camera, is mourning the loss of her cat, adding the beloved pet may have saved their lives.
“The cat was pounding on that door to get in, and I let her in, but I don’t think we got her out, and she’s the one that woke us up,” she said,
That’s when, Chiotis said, the family realized their home was on fire.
“Danny looked up, and he felt the heat, and he saw the fire, and he started screaming, ‘fire, fire,’” she said.
Chiotis said she tried to save her pets.
“That’s when I flew across the house. I opened the door and let the cat in, then I pulled the bird out,” she said.
Chiotis was able to escape the blaze with two other residents, but a woman stayed trapped inside her bedroom.
Sunrise Fire Chief John McNamara said crews rushed to her aid.
“When they actually broke the window to the room and crawled in, [crews] pulled the victim out of the window,” he said.
The house was destroyed in the fire.
Chiotis said they had no insurance and now have nowhere to live
“Everything is gone. Look, there’s no windows, no sliding glass doors. They can’t fix this,” she said.
Chiotis said she’s still looking for two of her cats that went missing after the fire broke out. She’s asking anyone who sees the felines roaming in the neighborhood to come forward or report it to Sunrise Fire Rescue.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
