March 25, 2009

A Wichita hospice worker is being called a hero for saving a local woman from her burning home.

Ava Jo Rowton-Hall is an aide with Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice and visits Sandra Watts' home three times a week. Rowton-Hall was preparing a bath for Watts Wednesday morning when she noticed something was wrong. "When I opened this (the window), the smoke came pouring out", Rowton-Hall said.

Rowton-Hall told Watts they needed to leave the home. Watts didn't think the situation was serious. "She said Sandy, come on, it's burning right there. Then I turned around and saw it", Watts recalled.

An added danger was there were highly flammable oxygen bottles also in the home. "If she hadn't told me two or three times that we had to get out of there because of the oxygen, i'd have never made it", Watts said.

For now Watts is living with family members. She said she owes everything to Rowton-Hall, her "guardian angel".