Elderly woman killed after fire destroys home in Redlands
SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- An elderly woman is dead after a fire destroyed her home.
Maria Pratt, 71, lost her life after a fire burned quickly through her home. Pratt's husband, Joseph was also inside the home, but he escaped the fire.
Fire officials say a brief power outage led to her death. They say that although they were alerted by the fire alarm, the electricity went off shortly after the blaze began, leading to the couple's inability to find the door. "When firefighters arrived, this house was fully engulfed in flames," said Shanti Hall of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. "They were able to knock down the fire, control it."
Officials declared the home a total loss.
Neighbors say Pratt will be missed. "She always went back to the old times, Cuba and everything," said Roger Harden. "She would sit there and talk to us, sometimes for two hours."
Harden also said Maria loved her animals. Julio Marin, a distant relative, said Pratt's animals caused her death. Marin says Pratt was going back to save her animals when she was consumed by the fire.
(Copyright 2007 by Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
