Investigators are still trying to determine what started a Northwest D.C. fire that left a young woman seriously hurt when she jumped out of a window after saving her younger siblings.
The flames ripped through Doris Bronson’s rowhome on Princeton Place at 3 a.m. Sunday while everyone was asleep in their beds. It was a close call for her and her family.
“Where the fire started, if my 12-year-old had not been in his room, he would be dead right now,” Bronson said.
There were 11 people in the house - a combination of family and several children there for a birthday sleepover. Bronson tried to get upstairs to the kids, but the smoke pushed her back.
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“As I went up the steps and went into the kitchen, the fire smoked me from both ways,” she said.
Bronson’s 18-year-old daughter got the children to safety before becoming trapped herself. She jumped from a window to escape, breaking her pelvis, leg and bones in her back.
“Everyone keeps asking me if I’m OK, and I’m not OK! My daughter risked her life so she could save her brothers and sisters,” Bronson said.
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While they have their lives, she added that her family lost everything they owned.
Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the fire, but Bronson says she texted the landlord repeatedly about ongoing electrical and plumbing problems and that things weren’t properly fixed.
News4 reached out to her landlord, but messages were not returned.
Bronson’s daughter underwent surgery for her injuries Monday, but her mother said she has a long and difficult recovery ahead.
