Nineteen-year-old Beatrice Ramirez survived the collapse of the R. T. Dennis building. She went on to give her firsthand account to the Waco Times-Herald, saying, “The only way of seeing anything was by the lightening. [Mrs. Carrie Patton and I] stood there while the lightening flashed, and we could see the last window in the front break. We saw Mr. Rush Berry run toward the back to the side entrance leading to Fifth Street. That was the last thing I saw. The building caved in.” She was conscious after the collapse and did her best to free Mrs. Patton and another woman from the rubble before going for help. She escaped the rubble through the elevator shaft and enlisted men to help her try and save those still buried inside.