DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Davie mother said she has her 8-year-old daughter to thank for alerting about a fire that broke out in the kitchen of her townhome and filled the entire residence with smoke.
Melissa Cristo showed 7News the damage from the blaze that destroyed her kitchen on Sunday.
She said she is still figuring out her next steps.
“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to start to fix the situation,” she said. “I’m a single mom, and I don’t have money to move.”
But for now, Cristo is grateful to her daughter Catalina, who said she smelled smoke and knew exactly what to do.
“I was with my brother, and then I was looking for my mom, and then, when I found her, I’m like, ‘Wake up, there’s fire,'” said Catalina.
“My daughter saved my life,” said Cristo.
According to Davie Fire Rescue, the fire sparked in Cristo’s townhome, located along Southwest 67th Terrace, at around 6 a.m.
Cristo said she and her two children were upstairs sleeping when the fire started on the stove and quickly spread, melting her appliances and even ruining some of her children’s drawings.
When she saw the flames, Cristo said, she grabbed her children and ran for the front door.
“I didn’t know what happened at that time,” she said. “The smoke, it was really hard, so we just run outside and go outside.”
Cristo said she’s lived at the townhome for three years and doesn’t make much money working as a teacher’s assistant.
Although she doesn’t know how she will be able to make ends meet, she’s thankful for her daughter that no one is hurt, and they were all able to escape.
“She saved my life in a lot of ways, because I’m a better person for her and for my son, but yesterday she really saved our life,” she said.
The official cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Volunteers with the American Red Cross are assisting Cristo and her children. The family has started a GoFundMe page to help with expenses. If you would like to make a donation, click here.
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