DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida family was left without a place to call home after, officials said, a fire broke out inside their apartment, Friday morning.
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue responded to the scene of the blaze at the Heritage Circle Apartment complex, located along the 4300 block of Northwest Ninth Avenue in Deerfield Beach, just after 10:30 a.m.
Homeowner Tiffani Mercurio said she was feeding her 11-month-old daughter at the third-floor unit when she smelled smoke.
“I started smelling smoke, really strong, and I was trying to remember if I was cooking or left a candle burning, and I remember I didn’t,” said Mercurio. “Then I started seeing black smoke coming from the bedroom, in the hallway.”
Mercurio grabbed her daughter and ran out of the unit. Meanwhile, Marley, the family’s pet Chihuahua, ran to hide.
Mercurio then ran back inside to retrieve her dog, but was unable to find the 4-year-old canine. “At first, I thought, ‘He’s not going to make it,'” she said. “He’s so small, and there’s so much smoke. I was panicking. I was asking for help, and I had neighbors going in and trying to help me get him out.”
But Marley was nowhere to be found.
Firefighters went in shortly after and were able to locate Marley’s hiding place. “They found him under some clothes,” said Mercurio.
Crews gave oxygen to the Chihuahua. Mercurio had a season-specific expression to describe the outcome.
“Christmas miracle,” she said.
7News showed Mercurio holding her pet outside the apartment building. “He’s a survivor,” she said.
Mercurio said she and her loved ones are grateful to have escaped the flames, but added her future is uncertain at this point. “Times are going to be tough now. We’re going to have to find another place to live and save up some money and start all over, basically,” she said.
“But it will be OK,” she added.
According to the family, the fire started in the bedroom between an electrical socket and the wall.
The American Red Cross is providing assistance to the family. They will be staying at a hotel for a week, and after that, they have no idea what they are going to do.
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