Father Saves Kids As Mother Sets Their Home On Fire With Family Still Inside

A Florida mother is accused of setting her own house on fire while her family members were inside. The woman's husband managed to get everyone out of harm's way before the blazing fire could cause any injuries or casualties, but Miami Fire Rescue declared the home uninhabitable after the incident.

Tamika Amanda Dorsett, 36, was arrested Monday for torching the house at 317 NW 65th St. in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood. The blaze began at around 10:30 a.m. after Dorsett doused the living room on the first floor with lighter fluid. A few feet away from her at the time was her husband, sleeping on the couch as she poured the lighter fluid, police said.

Dorsett appeared to be having hallucinations as the harrowing incident unfolded, according to New York Daily News.

The unidentified husband woke up to Dorsett saying the neighbor’s children were inside the house and that she needed them to go outside. She then started the fire that spread to a neighbor unit, officials said.

Dorsett’s 9-year-old child and two others were on the second floor as the fire started spreading through the house. The boy’s father rushed everyone outside the building and nobody suffered any injuries, as reported by Local 10 News.

First responders arrived at the scene and managed to put the fire out but house was deemed unfit to live in by Miami firefighters.

Dorsett was charged with first-degree arson, child abuse with no great bodily harm, and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. She was held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center following her arrest.

In an unrelated incident that took place in December 2019, a man from New Jersey was accused of setting his own house on fire to claim the insurance money. Gilmar Tejada of East Hanover was found guilty of intentionally igniting his Cedar Street home a few months after the incident. He was also accused of filing fake insurance documents after the fire to earn compensation for the losses.

Tejada lived with his family in the house and was one of its owners, but the co-owner was not charged with respect to the incident. Officials also noted that nobody was inside the house when Tejada sparked the flames, and no injuries were reported.