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9-Year-Old Fire Victim's Condition Upgraded

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 26, 2008

CLEARWATER - The condition of a 9-year-old girl who was severely burned in a house fire early Saturday has been upgraded.

Makeila Pressley was initially in stable but critical condition after the blaze at 916 Eldridge St., family members said. But Monday she was in fair condition at Cincinnati's Shriners Hospital, a spokeswoman said.

Makeila was among 10 children and four adults in the house when a fire erupted in a back bedroom shortly after midnight. Investigators said the fire was accidental and have determined a lit cigarette had been left in the bedroom where Makeila was sleeping, said Clearwater public safety spokeswoman Elizabeth Daly-Watts.

When the smoke detector sounded, family members said they started searching the house for signs of fire. An uncle tried to open the door to the third-grader's bedroom but the door was jammed. When the uncle kicked the door open, flames spewed out, according to Barbara Jenkins, the girl's great-aunt, who is speaking for the family.

The uncle saw the girl in her bed with flames around her, Jenkins told The Tampa Tribune Saturday. Efforts to bring the fire under control failed.

Meanwhile, the girl's grandfather broke the room's window and turned a garden hose on the fire at about the same moment Makeila walked out of the room and through the house, Jenkins said. Her mother grabbed her, pushed her down and smothered the flames.

The girl, a student at Largo Central Elementary, was alert and talking before paramedics arrived.

Jenkins said Makeila was burned over 54 percent of her body. The burns were confined to the waist up. Her legs had minor burns.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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