JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A Jacksonville, Fla., teenager saved his neighbors from a fire by using a hammer to break down the burglar bar on their door.
Latavisa Bell, 17, was awakened early Saturday morning by a fire in the house next door, The Jacksonville (Fla.) Times-Union reported Sunday. When he rushed to the rescue, he found a mother and two daughters trapped inside because they could not find the keys to the burglar bar holding their door shut.
He first tried to force the door open with a shovel, and when that did not work, he began prying the door open with a hammer while the mother inside pushed against the door, the newspaper said. Meanwhile, smoke poured out of the door, and Bell said he had to hold his breath to keep from breathing the fumes.
After several attempts, the door gave way.
Rescue workers arrived a few minutes later and took the neighbor and her two daughters to a hospital, where doctors said Bell had saved the victims from several minutes of harmful exposure to the heat and smoke of the fire, the newspaper said.
