3 Hospitalized In Miami Apartment Fire

MIAMI --

A man was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital with second- and third-degree burns, along with two other residents who suffered from smoke inhalation, after a fire at an apartment building at 189 NE 26th St. on Monday.

The two-alarm fire started at about 3:30 a.m. and 15 fire trucks responded to the scene.

"I couldn't see my way out, so I tried to feel my way out," said resident Bien-Aime Erica.

Nearly two dozen residents escaped from their homes, most of them running out half-dressed or in pajamas.

"As our units arrived, we found heavy flames and smoke showing in the rear building, which seems to be some kind of rooming house," said Miami fire-rescue spokesman Ignatius Carroll Jr.

Before crews arrived, residents helped neighbors by knocking on doors and warning others of the blaze. William Days might have saved an elderly man's life by going back into a burning home.

"As I was pulling him and got him out, the skin was just coming off his legs," said Days. "It had to be his left leg (that) was on fire. There was a water hose in the back, believe it or not, that was on enough to put the fire out on his leg as it was still burning."

The cause of the fire is unclear, but the landlord said he thought it might have been electrical.

Five people living in the rooming house were being provided clothing, food and housing by the American Red Cross for the next three days. Residents were allowed back inside to collect personal items.