HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - A grandmother is dead and two others are hospitalized after a fire erupted in an apartment in Hollywood, according to officials.
Hollywood Police and Fire Rescue responded to reports of an apartment fire along the 400 block of South Ocean Drive just after 3:00 a.m., Wednesday.
Upon arrival, crews found the first floor of the building engulfed in flames.
Cellphone video captured orange flames taking over the apartment.
Fire crews located a father with injuries asking for help outside as his son and his son’s grandmother were trapped inside. Crews pulled the two people trapped through a window.
Witnesses said the smell of smoke jolted them out of bed.
“I smelled smoke. I opened my door, ran out on top of my roof, and looked and saw smoke emerging from the bottom of my building,” said a neighbor Joe Simpson.
Simpson said when he noticed the fire spewing from his building, he rushed to warn his neighbors, urging everyone to exit the building, even rescuing a dog in the process.
“I went to each one of my neighbors, banged on their doors, made sure they would wake up, and escorted them out. Jumped through his window, get his dog out,” he said.
Fire crews managed to get the fire under control. The apartment was left badly damaged and covered in soot and torn apart.
All three victims were initially treated at Memorial Regional Hospital for smoke inhalation burns.
However, due to her severe burns, the grandmother succumbed to her injuries.
The child and the man were then transferred to Jackson Memorial Hospital Burn Center in Miami.
“All three people were transported to Memorial Regional for their injuries; unfortunately, one woman did pass away from her injuries. The other two were then transported to the Burn Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital,” said Hollywood Police Public Information Officer Deanna Bettineschi.
Neighbors, like Sam Palmer, are grateful for the lives that were saved and hope the two other victims make a full recovery.
“I hope that he’s OK,” he said.
Investigators spent most of Wednesday combing through the rubble.
Neighbors returned in the afternoon to collect their valuables as the building was deemed unsafe and they needed to find somewhere else to live.
“We have to figure it out man so I’m going to try to take a nap in my car and I have to work at night that’s why I have my clothes on for work,” said a man.
“I have to find a place to live,” said Simpson.
As of Thursday afternoon, the identities of the victims and the two victims’ conditions are not known.
The Red Cross has been called to assist the families. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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