TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

3 Injured In Tampa After Burglar Bars Trap Them In Fire

Tampa Fire Rescue photo

Tampa Fire Investigator Al Alcala examines a smoke detector inside the home. The smoke detector did not have batteries.

ADVERTISEMENT

By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 8, 2008

Updated: 12/08/2008 05:44 pm

TAMPA - A space heater placed too close to a couch caused a fire this morning that injured three people, fire officials said.

Mary Jones Bynes, 73, Willie Bynes, 69, and Latoya Williams-Jones, 26, were being treated at local hospitals after they were trapped in the burning house by burglar bars, fire officials said.

Mary Jones Bynes was in serious condition Monday night at St. Joseph's Hospital, spokeswoman Jacqueline Farruggio said.

Willie Bynes and Williams-Jones were both listed in critical condition today at Tampa General Hospital, spokeswoman Ellen Fiss said.

Neighbors and police tried to pry apart the bars on the front door before firefighters arrived but were unsuccessful. "People were inches away from escaping but could not get through," Tampa Fire Rescue Capt. Bill Wade said.

The fire at 2905 Chipco St. did more than $100,000 damage to the single-story house, Wade said. The burglar bars had no quick-release device allowing the residents to escape, he said.

In addition to the problem the bars created, none of the smoke alarms in the single-story house had batteries, he said.

Firefighters found two space heaters in the room where the fire started, Wade said. Space heaters need to be kept three feet away from anything flammable and should not be allowed to overload electrical circuits.

Julius Mark Henderson, who lives across the street, said his sister and father woke him about 6:30 a.m., frantic that their neighbors' house was burning.

Henderson, 50, said he knows the couple as Miss Mary and Mr. Willie. Property records show the house is owned by Mary Jones.

"I went to the side bedroom and saw Mr. Willie. I said, 'Are you all right? Can you get out?' He said no," Henderson said.

Henderson said he broke a window trying to help the trapped people and cut his left hand. Firefighters bandaged the hand.

He and other neighbors and police tried to bend the bars on the front door but only managed to "bend it up a little bit," he said. "We couldn't get in there."

The situation was chaotic and frustrating, he said.

"You're trying to put all your effort into helping someone you care about," he said. "It was pretty intense."

After firefighters entered the house, they helped "Miss Mary" walk outside, Henderson said. The other woman who had been trapped in the house was her granddaughter, he said.

Henderson said his house has burglar bars with a push-out release on the bedroom windows.

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT