Family, including 100-year-old, escapes Nicetown fire

NICETOWN -- A fire forced three generations of a family, including a 100-year-old woman, from their Philadelphia home late Friday night.

The fire happened in the 1500 block of West Pike Street in Nicetown just before midnight.

Rescuers say it was the 100-year-old woman who started yelling for help.

Her granddaughter, Marcia Pemberton, had just returned home from a night shift as a nurse.

She credits her grandmother's alertness with saving the entire family.

"You know she saved my life by screaming help, alerting me something was wrong," Pemberton said. "I saw her in the hallway, saw flames coming from her bedroom, house quickly began to fill up with black smoke."

Pemberton guided her grandmother down the steps, while her mother called 911.

The family is now staying with relatives.

Investigators say they had no working smoke detectors in their home.