‘Happy we made it out.’ Woman thankful family escaped Fort Worth fire that led to crash
A woman whose house caught fire in southeast Fort Worth early Tuesday morning said she and her family are thankful to be alive.
The second fire truck that was responding crashed while on the way to the scene of the blaze in the 4500 block of Pecos Street, injuring four firefighters. Two of the firefighters remained hospitalized Tuesday afternoon, with one in critical condition in the ICU at John Peter Smith Hospital, according to Fort Worth Fire Chief Jim Davis.
Nena Pounds told the Star-Telegram she has lived in the house on Pecos Street for 16 years with no problems prior to Tuesday’s fire. Having recently had a heart attack and stroke, she only started back at work Monday.
Now, Pounds says she can’t go to work because of breathing problems from smoke inhalation.
Pounds woke up Tuesday morning and started going about her regular morning routine. When she realized the electricity was out, she opened the door to the garage to check the breaker box.
“It hit me right in the face, this thick, black smoke,” Pounds told the Star-Telegram.
She woke her husband and daughter and they ran from the home. Outside, the garage door was aflame. Then she realized her daughter’s puppy was still inside the house, in a kennel. Pounds ran back inside and got the dog, she said.
It was after going back in that Pounds had an asthma attack and had to have help breathing, she said. She’s on an hourly breathing treatment now.
“I’m just happy we made it out,” Pounds said.
Tuesday afternoon, as Pounds sat in her car outside the house, still coughing occasionally, neighbors picked through the garage looking for things they could save for her and piling up what the fire destroyed.
Pounds says she thinks the fire was started either by electrical problems with her water heater or by a space heater.
The Red Cross is assisting the family.
This story was originally published February 6, 2024 at 2:17 PM.