HOUSTON – A 2-alarm fire destroyed several southeast Houston apartments and killed a woman Thursday, but the victim's mother was credited with saving her newborn grandson from the flames.
The fire broke out at the South Point apartments in the 12800 block of Roydon and Kurland around 1 a.m.
Firefighters said they found several units consumed in flames.
A couple had to jump from their balcony to escape the intense heat and flames. The woman said she threw her dog to safety first and then jumped into the bushes. People helped catch her. The woman was burned on her hands and has scrapes on her legs. Her fiance, who also jumped, was burned on his hands.
Another woman grabbed her 2-week-old grandson, Nicholas, but was trapped.
"I saw the old lady holding her baby, but by that time, her apartment was engulfed in flames. I went back to my apartment to kick out the patio wall so they can come through the apartment," said Robert Petters, a resident.
"She just handed me the baby, like she trusted me with it. And she was just calling for her [daughter] to come out," said Dillion Petters, a resident.
The woman's daughter, Carrie Jordan, 38, went back in the apartment for her dog, did not make it out. Firefighters said they found her collapsed on the floor. She was rushed to a hospital in critical condition and later died.
The infant was not injured.
Four units were destroyed. Four others had smoke and water damage. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
At least eight families lost everything. The Houston-area Red Cross went to the complex to help the victims.