Angela Coleman, an African American mother from Wayne County, North Carolina, survived a devastating apartment fire after saving her children and 5-year-old granddaughter. She jumped from a third-floor window, suffering serious injuries but keeping her family alive.
“It was just that fast, within seconds. It was so scary,” Coleman told CBS17.
The fire broke out at Adair Apartments in the Rosewood community near Goldsboro, leaving 50 residents homeless and sending four people to the hospital. A week later, the charred building still stands with broken windows, collapsed roofing, and ash scattered around the property.
Coleman was among the four hospitalized. She remains in recovery with a fractured back and a broken leg. She remembers the terrifying moments when thick smoke blocked the stairs, leaving her no way out but the window.
Her daughter first spotted smoke through the window. When she opened the front door, thick smoke and flames surged upward from the second floor. She quickly escaped down the stairs before the fire spread further.
Coleman then rushed to wake her son, who ran from his room and dove out of the building in panic. That left Coleman and her 5-year-old granddaughter, Jourdyn, trapped as the smoke thickened inside the apartment.
Thinking quickly, Coleman wrapped towels around their heads to filter the air. She carried Jourdyn to her bedroom window, where neighbors gathered below. She held her tightly, then dropped her down, trusting the crowd to catch her.
Once her granddaughter was safe, Coleman climbed onto the ledge herself. She gripped tightly before losing her hold and falling to the ground. The fall left her with broken bones, but she says she had no choice if she wanted to survive.
“I had to think fast, it was no can’t think and don’t know what to do, no time for that, I had to think quick,” Coleman said.
The fire destroyed all of Coleman’s belongings. Her family has turned to community support and launched a GoFundMe that has raised nearly $1,000. Still, she says the most important thing is that her family made it out alive.
Coleman’s son and granddaughter were treated for minor injuries and are now home. Investigators later determined the fire was accidental.
SOURCE: blacknews.com