A 95-year-old woman is in serious condition after firefighters pulled her from a house fire in Southeast D.C. Wednesday, D.C. Fire & EMS officials said.
Virginia Haskel, a great-great grandmother, was trapped in her bedroom on the second floor of her house in the 800 block of Xenia St. SE.
Her son, Benjamin Haskel, said food caught fire on the stove and the blaze grew quickly.
"I went to see if I could put the fire out first, but it had already reached the cabinets," he said. "I tried to get upstairs to get my mom, but it was just - it was just too much smoke.
When firefighters arrived, flames were shooting from the home.
Firefighters carried Haskel out and she was taken to a hospital in serious condition, fire officials said.
She was conscious and alert when firefighters put her in the care of medics, the fire department said.
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The fire was extinguished about 6 p.m.
Family members told News4 Virginia Haskel gets around with a walker and goes to church a few times a week. They said she has lived in the house for many decades and they intend on repairing the home and moving her back in as soon as possible.