A woman seriously hurt after a fire sparks at her Clearwater condo. Fire crews believe she mixed two elements that could have started the fire.
Clearwater Fire Rescue say two-thirds of her condo burned, in the 2600 block of Seville Boulevard near Clearwater Mall. The woman who lives there badly hurt. A medical helicopter flying her to Bayfront Hospital.
“The smoke was coming right out of the condo," said neighbor Walter Schoderbock, "Everybody started yelling 'fire, fire!'”
Firefighters quickly pulled her out but immediately realized she needed help.
“She wasn’t speaking, she wasn’t responding to them. She was just basically stooped over with some difficulty breathing," said Marvin Pettingill, Deputy Chief at Clearwater Fire Rescue.
Fire crews believe she was burned from the inside out because she was smoking while using an oxygen tank.
“Fire and oxygen do not mix, they cause explosions," said Pettingill.
They call her lucky to be alive and pray she’ll make it through.
“I hope she’s going to be better. It looked like she was sitting upright, I hope she’s going to be ok.”
Investigators are going to be here for a little bit of time to determine the precise cause of that fire and to check if the apartment has been totaled.
This is a developing story. Stay with ABC Action News for updates.
