MIAMI – Firefighters called to the smell of smoke inside of a duplex in Miami found a woman unconscious on the floor of the bedroom.
Miami Fire Rescue was called to 6313 NW 17th Avenue about 9 a.m. Wednesday.
People living in the neighboring duplex said they heard banging between midnight and 4:30 a.m. but saw nothing outside.
"It's sad. Just real sad," said neighbor Lamont Flanders. "Only time that really alarmed me was the alarm because it was going off, going off, going off and then all of a sudden it stopped."
"Then about 4 o'clock this morning we heard more banging. I got up and thought somebody was breaking in the house. I walked all the way around the house I didn't see nothing suspicious," said Anthony Quinnie.
Firefighters believe the woman was signaling for help.
"It appears that this woman was trying to get help or try to get out of her unit," said Miami Fire Rescue Lt. Ignatius Carroll. "Not sure if she was trying to bang on the window using a drawer, but this is a situation where you have bars all around the window."
About 6 a.m., smoke began to fill the front end of the duplex.
"I took a shower, got out of the shower and my eyes were burning," said Lamont.
Neighbors then called 911. Firefighters say the 56-year-old woman was known to have trouble walking. She was found unconscious and was taken to the hospital, where she died.
The woman has not yet been identified.