Woman rescued from burning Anaheim home

An Anaheim woman recounts the terrifying moment she was trapped on the second story of her home after a kitchen appliance ignited a massive fire in her home.

Nicole Hunter said she was asleep when at around 5 a.m., she awoke to the sounds of her fire alarm ringing and the heavy smell of smoke filling her home.

“I got hit with smoke in my face,” Hunter recalled. “I could see it coming up the stairs and into my hallways.”

She went downstairs and called 911. She ran back upstairs to warn her roommates and gather her things in her bedroom. When she tried to leave the room, however, she realized she was trapped.

“When you open my door, it’s completely covered in smoke,” she urgently told the dispatcher in a voice recording obtained by KTLA.

Trapped in her room, she placed a wet towel at the base of the door to prevent any flames from entering.

“I kept it in my head that I’m going to be rescued and everything is going to be okay,” Hunter said.

Anaheim firefighters quickly arrived at the home and were able to extinguish the growing blaze and rescue Hunter.

“Putting that wet towel at the base of the door, in this scenario, her bedroom was the safest spot in this entire house because of the actions she took,” said Kevin Olsen with the Anaheim Fire Department. “Keeping that door shut, putting the towels down there.”

Hunter said she was thankful nobody was hurt and that she’s grateful to Anaheim Fire and the dispatcher who stayed on the line with her during one of the scariest moments of her life.

“The reassurance and [the dispatcher] saying everything was going to be okay and it was,” she said.

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