Dispatchers coordinated a quick-thinking rescue today by persuading a woman who uses a wheelchair to stay inside her first-floor apartment while her building burned until firefighters arrived, authorities say.
Firefighters then used a ground ladder to bring the woman out of the building through a window, said Elizabeth Watts, Clearwater's public safety spokeswoman.
Forty-one people were evacuated after the blaze broke out about 3:30 a.m. in a building at Creekside Manor II, a senior living facility at 1335 Pierce St. A senior living facility is one where seniors live but function on their own.
Watts categorized the fire as suspicious. It started in a common area adjacent to the unit where the rescued woman lived. She had called 911 and was told to stay inside by dispatchers until firefighters arrived.
The staff at Creekside Manor moved the residents to a building at 1318 Pierce St. so no one would spend an inordinate amount of time outside in the cold, Watts said.
The rescued woman and three other residents were taken to area hospitals with injuries that were not life-threatening.
The residents who live on the second, third and fourth floors of the building that burned were allowed back into their apartments, but those who live on the first floor were not, due to the smoke and fire damage, Watts said.
A dollar estimate of the damage was not available.
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