BELLE GLADE, Fla. — Neighbors are being credited with helping save a man's life after an apartment caught fire Wednesday night in Belle Glade.
The blaze occurred at a two-story, 40-unit building just after 10 p.m. on Southwest Fifth Street, according to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.
Fire Rescue said flames and heavy smoke were coming from the second floor when they arrived at the scene.
Winston St. Louis, 65, said a wire connected to his air conditioner started smoking last night.
Moments later he and a neighbor sitting outside downstairs said they saw fire.
"When we saw the smoke, that's when we went upstairs," a resident named Caroline told WPTV on Thursday.
Caroline said she and two teenagers dragged St. Louis from his second-story apartment, but he left his prosthetic leg inside his apartment.
"The second I opened the door, the smoke come in my face, so I got down and those two boys went inside," Caroline said. "The young one grabbed him and brought him back to the stairs."
St. Louis confirmed that one of his neighbors carried him downstairs to safety.
"Yes, I said, 'Thank you God,'" St. Louis said.
Despite the smoke and flames, Caroline made sure everyone got out safely.
"I came downstairs and knocked on everybody's door to come out," Caroline said. "[I said], 'There is a fire in this building!' Some of them were sleeping. … I tried to save everybody's life, and I was crying."
St. Louis' prosthetic leg and most of his other possessions were damaged by the fire.
Fire Rescue crews quickly arrived and extinguished the blaze at about 10:45 p.m.
The Red Cross is assisting the residents displaced by the fire with preloaded debit cards that can be used for a hotel.
In the meantime, the power is turned off in the building as fire rescue investigators work to determine the cause.
The Red Cross said Friday that they provided emergency aid to 28 people impacted by the fire.
