NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Early Friday morning residents at Dover Glen Apartments woke up to the smell of smoke. The blaze was so intense that people had to jump from their windows to escape it.
"I really think that I got a second chance at life," said Cynthia Obando. She was sleeping by her boyfriend when she suddenly heard her roommate knock on her door in a panic.
"I immediately opened the door like quick and all I saw was black smoke," she said.
Her roommate's dog, Apollo, was missing and while the three tried to look for him the fire kept growing.
"When we started inhaling it, it was like burning my nose, my throat started closing up. So we immediately thought we were going to die," she said.
Having never been in a similar situation, she didn't know what to do.
"I saw my friend she was already burned really bad and she was shaking already like anxiety and then I honestly started giving up and I even started inhaling more because I was just like I might as well just pass out and just die right here because there is no way we are getting out," Obando said.
Finally, with her roommate and boyfriend's help, she was able to open a window.
"When I jumped I didn't even think about anything like I just jumped. I didn't even think about landing and that's when I felt my foot brake, like my whole leg, I just felt my bone shift," she said.
At the hospital, doctors confirmed what she already knew.
"They told me that I had basically broke my tibia into three pieces," Obando said.
Her roommate was also taken to the hospital and is recovering from second-degree burns. Obando will need surgery and has a long recovery ahead of her.
But despite her injuries and having lost all her belongings, Obando is staying hopeful.
"You know what this is a fresh new start. And it's only up from here. And we just have to keep pushing," she said.
Obando said she never heard the fire alarm go off and wants to remind people and apartment complexes to make sure alarms are working properly.
