ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. --
A fire at an Orange County apartment complex critically injured a mother and her disabled daughter Monday night.
The fire tore through the Lake Underhill Apartments near the intersection of Lake Underhill Road and Yucatan Drive
When flames started shooting from her kitchen, Bronilda Reyes ran from her apartment to safety and then she suddenly realized her daughter was still inside, said fire investigators.
"When the mother turned around and saw her daughter, she didn't flee; she turned around and went back inside to get the daughter," said District Chief Dawn Sumter.
Sumter was in charge of the scene as firefighters raced to rescue the two women trapped inside the apartment. Sumter said Reyes was in a back bedroom and her daughter was in the hallway.
Sumter described an emotional scene to WFTV reporter Nancy Alvarez: a mother who almost died trying to save her daughter.
"The daughter was scared and afraid to come out. So the mother stayed with the daughter and refused to come out as well," Sumter said.
Neighbors said they felt helpless as they watched firefighters carry the women outside and rushed them to the hospital. Reyes and her daughter were unconscious after being overcome by the smoke.
“By the time I came outside, the third and fourth doors were already engulfed in fire. People were just scrambling trying to get people out,” said eyewitness Claudio Gil. “There was no way you could get from this side of the building, so they tried the back through the window, and then finally the fire department showed up and they were able to pull out at least two adults."
Firefighters said the blaze started on the stove. The flames were contained to Reyes' apartment, but at least eight other units were damaged by smoke and water. The American Red Cross said it's helping at least 20 residents who cannot return home.
The district chief told Alvarez that both mother and daughter are still in critical condition in the burn unit at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fire.
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