OKC Woman Shares Story Of Saving Disabled Mother From Burning Home

By Abby Broyles, News 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A metro woman is out of the hospital right now after rescuing her mother from their burning home and she's sharing her story of survival.

It's a perfect example of how much seconds matter when dealing with a fire. Dennitta Warmack knew that when a fire broke out right in her upstairs bedroom. She reacted quickly and saved her mother's life.

9/14/2012 Related Story: Woman Rescues Disabled Mother From Northwest OKC House Fire

For Dennitta Warmack, it's hard to shake what happened Friday morning.

"It was just like my worst nightmare," said Warmack, "I heard a pop around 1:30 in the morning, and I saw flames at the end of my bed."

The foot of her bed was on fire, but only one thought crossed her mind.

"All I thought was, ‘my mom, I have to get my mom,'" Warmack said.

Her mom, Shirley, was downstairs. She had a stroke last year and uses a walker, but it wasn't close by.

"I looked down the stairs, and my mother was trying to crawl up the stairs," Warmack said.

Dennitta called 911. She wrapped her mom in a blanket and carried her out.

"I ran back upstairs because I needed to get my medication and my phone but by then I could not see anything because the fire had gotten so big and out of control," Warmack said.

By the time she got out of the house, firefighters were there and put the fire out. Paramedics took Shirley and Dennitta to the hospital for smoke inhalation. They are okay, but their home is not. The Red Cross has been helping them with a motel room this week.

Warmack doesn't call herself a hero, but her mom does.

"She calls me a hero," said Warmack. "I think I did what everybody else would do."

Investigators say an apparent overloaded power strip sparked the fire. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time the Warmacks have been forced out of their home. They had to move out of another house a few years ago because of black mold.

Now the Warmacks say they'll just have to start over again.