Woman saves mother from flames of New Albany fire

(WHAS11) - In the midst of the morning show, fire ripped through four apartments in New Albany. One woman saved her mother's life but says she lost everything else.

"Pretty much our whole life was gone in 30 minutes," said Renessa Norton.  But those are just the material things.

Renessa Norton and her husband Frank's woke up at 5:00 a.m. Tuesday morning to smoke and when they ran upstairs to check on their two boys, Renessa saw her mother covered in flames.

"My mother was on fire. I had to put her out. My hands got burned pretty badly. It was a very traumatic experience," said Renessa.
Her 58-year-old mother has burns over 30% of her body.

Fire Investigator Jodie Wilson says the fire at ta complex in the 3400 block of Tabor Court started in Renessa's mother's apartment.

"We do know the fire originated between a mattress and a recliner. Right now, we don't know the exact emission source but we can't rule out smoking materials," said Fire Investigator Jodie Wilson.

Renessa says she and her family will stay in a hotel for the night.

But outside of that, they don't have anywhere to go and not much more than the clothes on their backs.

"At least my mom didn't pass. She is burned badly but at least we still have our lives," said Renessa.

Four apartments were destroyed and one person, Renessa's mother, was taken to the hospital with burns.