Elderly Woman Rescued From Indianapolis Home Just Minutes Before Roof Collapsed

An elderly woman is alive but in critical condition Monday after firefighters in Indianapolis rescued her from her burning home just minutes before her roof collapsed.

The Indianapolis Fire Department said multiple 911 callers reported seeing the fire before 5 a.m. Monday but “none of the callers could provide an accurate address.” Fire crews responded to several nearby locations and found the fire on Windridge Drive. By the time they arrived, the house was “80% involved with heavy fire pushing from the roof.”

Firefighters found a single rear window where they could make entry, and within a minute located an 84-year-old woman unconscious in her bed. She was removed through the same window and passed to firefighters who were waiting outside.

The fire department, which advises people to “close before you doze,” said the woman’s bedroom door was thankfully shut, which kept much of the smoke out, but heavy fire was “tearing through the attic space above.”

“It was only 2 or 3 minutes after the woman was removed, that the roof collapsed into the room,” the fire department said.

Dramatic video shared by the fire department shows the woman being rescued amid roaring flames, with just minutes to spare before the roof collapse.

The woman, who was the only person inside the house, was transported to Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital in critical condition. The fire department said one cat died in the fire.