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Boy credited in saving uncle from burning mobile home
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- As if fires don't spread quickly enough, a mobile home fire in Tampa is being blamed on an oxygen generation unit.
Fire officials say they were called out to the residence located near Bourbon Street and River Bay Drive shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday.
More than one dozen firefighters were met with a mobile home and two adjacent vehicles engulfed in flames.
With no insurance, his home gutted by flames, and his belongings torched -- 73-year-old Antonio Soto still says that he considers himself lucky.
His 12-year-old grandson Felix Rivera had decided to spend the night at the home he shared with his wife.
Rivera says that he was only in bed for a few hours when he sensed that something was wrong.
"There was screaming, so I woke up," said Rivera.
Soto had also woken up, to find his wife's oxygen machine on fire.
He says that he was able to get his sick wife outside on his own, but by that time most of the home was up in flames.
Still inside was Soto's 62-year-old handicapped brother who is unable to walk on his own.
"My grandma was crying his name," said Rivera.
Neighbors including Raymond Smith had started to gather outside and they saw young Felix run back into the house.
"I said, 'Don't go in there,'" said Smith.
"I wasn't just going to leave him there," said Rivera. "That's my uncle. He's had five strokes and he's still alive."
Rivera assisted his uncle to get him outside.
Some of those neighbors also came to the rescue, moving the grandmother across the street and out of harms way.
The 62-year-old man was taken to the hospital with smoke-related injuries.
The Red Cross is reportedly helping the family out with temporary housing.
Hillsborough County Fire Rescue says that the cause is being linked to a malfunctioning oxygen generating unit used by Soto's wife.
According to fire officials, there were a large number of oxygen tanks being stored in a shed that helped to feed the flames.
Investigators say that the mobile home has been considered a total loss.
Officials did note that while the occupants have lived in the home for 12 years, firefighters did not find any working smoke detectors inside.
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