Update: Fire victim remains in critical condition
Update: Fire victim remains in critical condition
GREENSBORO — A woman was critically injured Thursday afternoon after a fire broke out in her one-story apartment.
Nina McCallister, 56, was taken from Moses Cone Hospital to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem. She remained in critical condition Friday.
She was unconscious when firefighters pulled her out of the fire at 114 Winston St. off East Market Street.
Firefighters responded about 3:30 p.m. to the multiunit complex to find an apartment engulfed in flames. The woman was in a front room, Assistant Fire Chief David Douglas said.
The fire caused extensive damage and melted one window frame. The fire department estimated the damage at $25,000.
Neighbors were able to continue living in the undamaged surrounding apartments.
One neighbor, Lisa Ross, 39, said everyone calls McCallister “Nana.”
Ross said black smoke was billowing from McCallister’s apartment windows.
“That fire was just burning too fast,” Ross said. “In just a matter of time, it was wild. People were trying to break in, and one guy was going in the door.”
Others unsuccessfully tried to rescue McCallister, but firefighters quickly brought her out of the apartment. Ross said McCallister had severe burns on her face, arms and legs.
Fire officials and Greensboro police are investigating the cause of the blaze. Typically, police are called to any fire with a serious injury or death to see if a crime had been committed. Firefighters finished the on-site investigation and will interview more people to determine what started the fire.
“If we get our timeline established, it begins to give us a lot of insight on accidental or some other cause,” Douglas said.
Douglas said four people lived in the apartment but only McCallister was inside when the firefighters arrived.
Contact Dioni Wise at 373-7090 or dioni.wise@news-record.com
Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com
Firefighters responded to an apartment blaze at 114 Winston St. on Thursday afternoon in Greensboro.
H. Scott Hoffmann / News & Record
