CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Firefighters across the Coastal Bend are observing fire prevention week.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, there are more than 300,000 house fires every year.
Alexus Williams lost her apartment in a fire earlier this year. She said that it caught her by surprise.
"When I first got home, it was like eight in the morning, and I walked in and my house was literally flooded with water. My toilet was broken, and my bathroom was black, and I was panicked," Williams said.
Williams said she came home to a "disaster.” Her trash can had caught fire and the flames quickly spread across her 800-square-foot apartment.
Williams said she stood in her apartment, not knowing what to do about the fire - something that Deputy Marshal Mark Lewis with the Corpus Christi Fire Department said isn't safe.
He said if you're walking into your home and think there's a fire inside, leave. He also said it's important to have an evacuation plan in case a fire ever breaks out while you're at home.
"We always teach that everyone has two ways out of their home,” Lewis said. “It could even be a window or by a door, then once you're out of the home, find a safe meeting place where everyone can connect then you know everyone is out of the home. Never ever go back in.”
Lewis said that he recommends that people get a fire extinguisher and learn the PASS (pull, aim, squeeze, sweep) method. He also said you should never leave stoves unattended and remove any items that are flammable like plastic.
Meanwhile, Williams was forced to move in with her grandfather because she didn't have renters’ insurance. She now owes the apartment complex $31,000 for the damage the fire caused.
She said it's better to have a plan than to need one because it could be too late.
"You never know what's going to happen,” she said. “You never know, you may leave your house one day thinking everything is good and you may come home, and your place is on fire.”
Fire prevention experts said this is the best time to check fire alarms and create an evacuation plan.
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