Neighbors save woman from burning Polk County home

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - When a Polk County home caught fire last week, neighbors put their own lives at risk to save a woman from the burning house.

It was around 1:30 Friday afternoon when people living near the 1300 block of 4th Street NE in Winter Haven noticed smoke was coming from the back of the house and they sprung to action.

“I was in my house. My cousin, Chris was in the backyard. He came, ran up to my door and told me that the lady's house was on fire,” explained Ernest “ET” Mobley.

He says he didn’t think twice. ET and his cousin ran over to help get their neighbor, Patricia Rose out of the burning house.

“I don’t know what really came over me or anything. I really wasn’t thinking,” ET said. “Only thing I had on my mind was her 'cause hearing her keep screaming, 'Somebody help me! Somebody please help me!' That just helped me keep going.”

Someone had already kicked in the front door so ET, his cousin, and another man went inside. He said the smoke was so thick he couldn’t see his own hand in front of his face and they couldn’t stay in the house very long.

“I was about to go back out and something just told me to go down to the ground, and once I went down I seen her ace bandage,” explained ET.

Patricia was about 12 feet away in the living room. She had fallen while trying to escape. ET managed to get her to the door where other neighbors helped pull her to safety.

“That’s my neighbor, she’s pretty much just like family around here, all of us stick together,” ET said.  “But it was just a blessing; it was just a blessing to be able to do it”

Patricia’s family said she was not hurt in the fire, and she’s so thankful to her neighbors. Officials say it appears the flames sparked in the back bedroom. The cause is still under investigation.