Firefighters entered a home on West Arch Street on Wednesday night to find flames raging in one bedroom and a woman unconscious on a bed in another.
Firefighters carried the woman out of the house, which was completely filled with smoke, Tampa Fire Rescue Capt. Bill Wade said. As paramedics treated her, fire crews got the flames under control in about 15 minutes.
The resident, Sheila Sutton, 48, was treated for smoke inhalation. She was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital where she is listed in serious condition. No other injuries were reported.
"Another minute in the thick smoke and she may not had any chance at all," Wade said in a prepared statement.
Investigators determined the blaze at 3920 W. Arch St. was caused by an electrical malfunction in the bedroom's wall outlet, Wade said. The blaze caused about $50,000 damage to the single-story house.
The house did have a smoke alarm, but investigators don't know whether it was working, Wade said. Firefighters told investigators that they did not hear the smoke alarm going off when they retrieved the woman.
Firefighters stayed in the neighborhood several hours after the fire was extinguished, going door to door to check if other homeowners' smoke alarms are working properly or if the alarms need fresh batteries, Wade said. Firefighters and paramedics installed 10 new smoke alarms in several homes.
The first crews arrived about 6:15 p.m., two minutes after dispatchers received the emergency call, Wade said. More than 24 emergency responders from four different fire stations were at the scene.
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