Severe burn victim forgives arsonist

Severe burn victim forgives arsonist

By Elisa Jaffe
Watch the story SEATTLE

Carlos Salmeron was trapped inside his Greenwood apartment, with smoke and flames raging around him, after an arsonist set it ablaze last week.

He managed to escape, but now he is in Harborview Medical Center with third-degree burns over 70 percent of his body.

Still, he says, he forgives the arsonist and feels no anger. "I feel like a miracle," he says, after escaping with his life.

The arsonist struck on Thursday while Salmeron was at home.

Trapped and frightened, Salmeron spotted smoke outside his basement apartment, but he couldn't open the only door out.

"I was thinking, 'I'm gonna die,' and I don't see no way to go out," he says. "The door don't open - I'm kicking and fighting, and the fire come in like - whoosh!"

The backdraft burned more than three-quarters of Salmeron's body. The part-time custodian, who just became a U.S. citizen this year, escaped with only his wallet.
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