Residents praise 10-year-old who spotted Fort Myers fire

FORT MYERS, Fla. Westchase Apartments residents expressed gratitude Tuesday for a 10-year-old they credit with saving lives.

Britney Lubin, a 10-year-old girl who lives at the apartments on Metro Parkway, was the first to call 911 Monday about a fire at one of the buildings where about 50 people live, residents said.

“God bless the Lord, because if that little girl did not call 911, my grandma would’ve been dead, and my sister,” Angelica Federici said.

Fire crews quickly put the fire out, and residents who evacuated were able to return home Tuesday. They described a frantic scene that unfolded as the fire burned.

“There was tape around here and I didn’t know and my mom was like rushing to the house,” Federici said.

Fellow resident Mark Duarte got the sort of phone call most dread.

“I was looking to call my sister to see what she was doing, and she called me in a panic and she said it was urgent,” Duarte said.

No one was hurt in the fire, a source said. The cause is under investigation.