TWINSBURG, Ohio — An elderly man is in Akron Children’s Hospital being treated in the burn unit after a dangerous house fire in Twinsburg Township that firefighters rescued two people from Thursday evening, according to officials.
“My house is on fire! Smoke is coming out!” screamed Nadine Williams during a frantic call to 9-1-1. Her home on Marwell Blvd. caught fire Thursday around 6:30 p.m. You can hear Nadine wanting to help her husband Oscar, who was trapped in the basement.
“Please, hurry. He inhaling that smoke! He inhaling that smoke!” she could be heard saying on the call. “My husband can’t walk. I got to try to get him out!”
We met the couple’s grandchild Brittany Garcias as she pulled up to the home today.
“They were my other set of parents because my parents worked a lot,” Garcias told us.
She said Oscar and Nadine mean the world to her and the entire family.
“I just don’t want to be crying and the what-ifs and the whys and all this other stuff. So, I just had to come over here and check,” said Garcias.
Summit County Sheriff’s Deputies got Nadine out. Firefighters told us serious flames and heavy smoke were in the home when they arrived. They were told Oscar was still inside.
“He was semi-conscious, not full conversations but he was not able to get out on his own,” said Shift Captain for Twinsburg Fire Earl Wilson.
“I know he can’t walk. He’s in a wheelchair,” said Garcias. “For most of the time, he’s in the bed.”
It’s not every day that firefighters go into a burning building and rescue somebody. They tell us they were just glad to be able to enact their training and get Oscar out of the home.
“Knowing that there’s somebody else in the house, the crews were working to their optimal abilities,” said Garcias.
They battled the elements and were able to get Oscar in an ambulance and off to care.
Garcias said the couple has been married for nearly 70 years. She also said it has been a rough time for them recently.
“They just buried two of their daughters not that long ago,” said Garcias. “They’re getting up in age.”
She told us Nadine is in her 80s and Oscar is in his 90s. Garcias is very appreciative of the crews who responded so bravely.
“I’m just thankful and blessed and I’m grateful that they were able to get both of them out,” she told us.
As last check, Oscar was still being treated at the burn unit. We asked about his condition but were not told.
Firefighters say the cause of the fire is still under investigation. According to officials, $100,000 worth of damage was done.
