Jan. 22--An elderly woman died after a fire engulfed her fifth-floor apartment early Sunday morning at the Meadowbrook Lakes condo complex in Dania Beach.
Residents of the six-story building were forced to evacuate after being awakened by smoke and fire alarms just after 3 a.m. Sunday.
Christian Delgado said he was sound asleep when he awoke to "very thick smoke" coming from the unit next door. He grabbed his 4-year-old son, pulled a fire alarm and called 911.
"Very scary," said Delgado. "The apartment was completely engulfed in smoke, and at that point I knew there was a fire."
Firefighters and paramedics from the Broward Sheriff's Office rescued the woman from the burning unit, No. 501, at 301 SE Third Street.
"She came out pretty severely burned, her face was all burned," said Delgado, who said rescue workers resuscitated her.
The 77-year-old victim, whose name has not been released, was taken to Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale and then to the burn unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, BSO said. She had burns over 60 percent of her body and was pronounced dead after 9 a.m.
Delgado said the fire was contained to the single unit, but some apartments might have water and smoke damage. "There's just a lot of smoke and it's going to smell bad for a couple of days," he said.
Neighbor Frank Romano, who lives in unit 505, said the woman was a heavy smoker who sometimes used candles in her apartment. Said Delgado: "We're not sure if it was cigarettes or maybe some candles lit, but she fell asleep and something ignited while she was asleep."
BSO Fire Chief Neal de Jesus, who came to the scene, said state and local fire marshals would investigate the cause.
Copyright 2012 - Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
