2 children, 1 adult saved from second story of burning Fayetteville home

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- A woman and her two grandchildren had to be hospitalized after being trapped inside their burning home in Fayetteville.

It happened just before midnight Wednesday at a home on Christina Street.

"Lot of smoke. Lot of smoke coming from the house and everybody was laid out," neighbor Kenneth Ramsey said.

One person, later identified by family as Kiarra Galarza, was able to get out of the house safely. Grandmother Eunice Galarza and the grandchildren, 11-year-old Lareina and 3-month-old Tahlia, were trapped on the second floor.

When firefighters arrived, they worked quickly to get to a nearby window and bring them to safety. They were then rushed to the hospital and at last check were in critical condition.

Family tells ABC11 Eunice and the grandchildren have injuries to their lungs and esophagus. They're being treated at the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center in Chapel Hill.

"Very common with that, being the smoke's going to travel up to the path of least resistance," Fayetteville Fire Department Captain Don Tschida said. "So if you have a fire even downstairs, smoke's going to want to go upstairs on its way out of the house."

Fire investigators said the flames sparked somewhere in the garage, but they are still trying to figure out how they started.