Miami Beach officers rescue blind woman from house fire
The rescue of a blind elderly woman and her husband from a house fire early Monday morning was captured on police bodycam footage.
Officer Alex Llaneras of Miami Beach Police noticed dark smoke coming through the roof of a home in the area he was patrolling. When he knocked on the door, a gentleman identified in the police report as Mr. Jay Spitz came out and said his wife, Shelly Spitz, was still in their bedroom.
Officer Ralph Vega then arrived at the scene and he and Llaneras went inside to rescue Mrs. Spitz.
“Miss, where are you? Come on out. Follow the lights,” one of the officers can be heard saying in the video. “Come on, where are you? Grab our hands.”
Another officer says, “This is bad bro.”
Mrs. Spitz “is legally blind and could not find her way out of the house,” according to police.
The fire started in the kitchen, where a slow cooker was simmering food on top of the stove. Mrs. Spitz “forgot about it as she went to sleep in their bedroom,” police said. The fire was contained.
Mrs. Spitz was treated with smoke inhalation, along with her husband and the officers. The Spitzes refused hospital care but Llaneras and Vera were both transported to Mt. Sinai Hospital and later released.
Miami Beach Police public information officer Ernesto Rodriguez told ABC News that both officers are expected to be OK.
