A "boom" woke Precious Corn in her Fort Lauderdale apartment Tuesday, where a smoky fire broke out and prompted an off-duty firefighter, on-duty cop and neighborhood kids to all work together to rescue her.
Black smoke was coming beneath her bedroom door as Corn said she followed an emergency dispatcher's instructions to get on the floor and cover her face.
"It was terrifying," said Corn, 29, who couldn't open her bedroom window. "I asked God to get me through it."
At the same time, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Mike Salzano was on his way to a department meeting and detoured along back streets near Corn's home -- at the Carter Park apartments on 720 NW 14th Terr. -- to avoid traffic on Sunrise Boulevard.
"I turned the radio on, heard the structure fire being dispatched, turned the corner and saw a column of smoke," Salzano said at the fire scene. "There is an alleyway right here and I noticed a bunch of kids trying to get into this back window. They were breaking the windows, frantically."
Salzano was joined by an officer from Fort Lauderdale police.
"There was like 3 or 4 kids, saying there was somebody trapped," Salzano said.
Though he didn't have any protective gear, Salzano said he went in the front door, got about 20 feet inside and had to come back out because of the amount of smoke.
"One of the kids gave me a shirt to put over my face and I went back in for another search and tried to locate somebody trapped," said Salzano.
Black smudges were smeared across the top of his head.
"I was married to the ground, the smoke was so heavy," the firefighter said.
Though he was dressed in a shirt and slacks and didn't have his mask or other protective gear to fight the fire, Salzano said, "This is what we're trained for. We're trained to save lives. It is an instinct and there is no hesitation when that happens."
The police officer was breaking some of the windows to let smoke escape as the neighborhood kids pulled Corn out of the burning building, Salzano said.
"They broke the window, pushed down my headboard and pulled me through," Corn said of the efforts by the children. "I've seen them around, but I don't know their names."
Trucks and firefighters arrived and put out the blaze.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Greg May praised the kids' actions.
"They are the true definition of heroes," May said. "It was just an all around community effort, between the citizens, the firefighter and the police officer. A perfect storm came together, with a great outcome."
The officer, whose name was not released, was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Corn lives in the apartment with her toddler nieces. She said they had already left for school when the fire was reported at 8 a.m.
No other injuries were reported by officials, who said the apartment was a total loss.
The American Red Cross and the property manager were trying to help find alternate living arrangements for the displaced family. The cause of the fire appears to be accidental, the fire department said.
[email protected], 954-356-4233 or Twitter @LindaTrischitta
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