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The video shows firefighters pulling off a window air conditioning unit to create a path for people to escape. One of the people inside is being investigated.
PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — A new video released by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office shows first responders rescuing one man and two women from a fire they say is being treated as arson.
The video captures the chaos as firefighters remove a window air conditioning unit to reach people trapped inside. They hear voices inside and call for the victims to move toward the opening for rescue.
Rescuers were able to pull three people to safety.
The fire took place at the 2500 block of Kin Street. Officers responded Sunday night after they received a call that a man had set clothes on fire in the laundry room of the mobile home, PCSO said.
When they arrived, they found that the entry areas to the home were blocked with trash and “other debris,” preventing escape.
They heard screams for help in a back bedroom. That is when they removed the window air conditioning unit and created an exit.
One of the victims, 54-year-old Charles Ogle, remains hospitalized. He was flown to a trauma hospital in Gainesville.
Authorities believe Ogle is the person who started the fire following a disagreement with the two women inside the house, PCSO said. Both women were treated and released.
PCSO says they have responded numerous times to the mobile home for “disturbance and domestic violence calls,” and in April, one of the same women involved in this fire reported Ogle had attempted to set a jacket on fire.