WYOMING, Mich. — A Wyoming woman and her family tried escaping an apartment fire Monday by tying bed sheets together before firefighters arrived with a 35-foot ladder to complete the rescue.
Anna Chavez was relaxing with her sister and niece Monday night when a fire broke out in their apartment building. The flames quickly spread throughout her apartment closing off areas to escape.
"It was fire from the living room. It was fire in the room, and we was trying to leave from there," Chavez said.
As smoke and fire filled the building, Chavez had to think fast. She tied bed sheets together to use as a makeshift rope to climb out the window.
"We we're trying to jump," Chavez said. "In that moment you don't have to start thinking too much, you know. You only have to take action and do the things."
During the terrifying ordeal, Chavez feared for their lives, especially her young niece's safety.
"I just think I'm gonna die in here, and if they can save her, it's gonna be okay, you know, because she's a child, and she's just little," Chavez said.
Wyoming firefighters arrived on scene and used a 35-foot ladder to reach Chavez and her family at the window.
"They tell me to calm down a little bit. But at the same time, I was nervous, and it was hard for me to talk," Chavez said.
Firefighters successfully rescued Chavez, her sister, her niece and even her cat named 'Gato'. Chavez is grateful to the firefighter who saved her family.
"I just want to say thank you, because they saved my life, and my niece's life, and my sisters life," Chavez said.
The traumatic experience continues to affect Chavez, who says shes still dealing with the trauma from Monday's fire.
"We hear like something, it was a little bit low, and I get scared. I have like a panic attack. And I was feeling nervous, because I remember everything," Chavez said.
While grateful everyone survived, Chavez says rebuilding will be challenging after losing everything in the fire.
"I feel sad because, like, when somebody gave me something, it doesn't matter if it's a small or big. I really appreciate all those things. I lost everything," Chavez said.
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