A 3 1/2-year-old girl is lucky to be alive, police said, after some quick thinking by her great-grandmother.
Around 2:45 p.m. Friday, the girl locked herself inside her great-grandmother's bedroom.
While inside, she knocked over a candle onto the mattress and immediately the mattress was ignited, the great-grandmother told police.
She went toward the room and realized the fire had started and tried to open the door.
She realized the girl had locked herself inside, so the great-grandmother communicated with the girl, trying to get her to open the door.
After some coercing, the girl finally opened the door and ran toward her great-grandmother, police said.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue arrived at the scene moments after the girl left the bedroom, officials said, and were able to quickly put out the fire.
The fire was more or less contained in the bedroom, fire rescue officials said, but there was a lot of smoke damage to the rest of the home.
Unfortunately, the woman's cat died in the fire, but no one else was injured.
The girl was taken to Miami Children's Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation and was released a few hours after, family members said.
Due to her age, firefighters said that she would not be enrolled in a fire starters program because it calls for children to be at least 4 years old and above.
