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Afire, girl emerges from house

The 9-year-old, one of three injured in a Clearwater blaze, will be taken to a burn center.

By Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer
Published February 24, 2008

CLEARWATER - The house on Eldridge Street was full of people, four adults and 10 children, for a family get-together.

As the party wound down, the adults stayed up talking. The children, including 9-year-old Makeila Pressley, went to bed.

Just after midnight, the girl's uncle awoke to a blaring smoke alarm, relatives say.

He saw smoke pouring from the girl's bedroom. He couldn't get the door to open, so he ran around the back of the house, broke a window and sprayed the room with water from a hose.

He could hear her crying.

"They were calling her name," said Barbara Jenkins, the girl's great-aunt. "They could see the bed burning."

Somehow, the girl stood up and walked out, on fire. Her mother, Davana Pressley, grabbed her in a bear hug, then pushed her on the ground to smother the blaze.

"It was by an act of God that she was able to get up and walk out on her own," Jenkins said.

Makeila's family spoke throughJenkins, 41, who waited with them at Tampa General Hospital. They were expecting a flight to Ohio, where Makeila will be treated at the burn unit of Shriners Hospitals for Children-Cincinnati.

Jenkins and a great-uncle, Gene Pressley, 50, summarized what happened after talking to their family members who were there.

Clearwater fire officials determined the blaze was accidental and said it caused about $55,000 in damage. Two other children were taken to Morton Plant Hospital with minor injuries.

The home, at 916 Eldridge St., was rented to Lester Nelson. Property records show it's owned by Bernard Adragna of Palm Harbor.

Jenkins said Makeila lived there with her mother and grandmother, who cares for eight grandchildren. She said Makeila is a student at Largo Central Elementary.

Relatives said the burns covered half of her body, from her head to her waist.

Jenkins said the girl spoke early Saturday after the fire, but was heavily sedated after she got to the hospital.

Pressley said his niece, a cheerleader in the Greenwood Panthers league program, had long hair before the fire.

"She was a beautiful kid," he said. "She's got a long way to go."

Stephanie Garry can be reached at sgarry@sptimes.com or 727 892-2374.

[Last modified February 24, 2008, 00:02:58]