LAUDERHILL, FLA. (WSVN) - An elderly woman has died after flames sparked at a Lauderhill apartment complex, Thursday.
Cellphone video captured smoke pouring out of a third-floor window of a building near Northwest 19th Street and 40th Avenue, Thursday afternoon.
Residents who escaped the fire lined up outside waiting for first responders to arrive.
“There were smoke and flames showing as crews arrived. They were able to get to the fire,” said Lauderhill Fire Rescue spokesperson Jasmine Greer.
7Skyforce captured the moments firefighters set up a ladder outside of the smoking window, planning a way to attack the flames. Part of a window frame could be seen dangling over the side of the building.
Crews raced to make sure everybody made it out of the building after receiving reports of a trapped resident.
“I wanna make sure that apartment’s clear. There are reports of someone trapped in that apartment, so I wanna make sure that we can ventilate and do a primary search,” said a dispatcher.
After getting inside the unit, crews found an elderly woman who was trapped inside.
“We did find a victim and she was transported in critical condition to [Broward Health Medical Center]” said Greer.
“We got three guys from that ventilation crew that are gonna transport that patient to Rescue 278 when they come out,” said a dispatcher.
The woman was later pronounced as deceased at the hospital. Authorities identified her as 91-year-old Adeline Morant.
Investigators are working on determining what led to the fire inside of that unit, which started at around 12:20 p.m.
Fire crews said several other areas inside of the building sustained extensive damage as a result of the fire.
“There’s a lot of smoke and water damage throughout the hallways. We do have Red Cross right now on scene helping victims that are displaced,” said Greer.
The State Fire Marshal is investigating.
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