FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A fire that ignited inside a Fort Lauderdale home claimed the life of a pet, officials said.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue units responded to the scene of the blaze along the 3700 block of Southwest Sixth Street, Thursday morning.
Officials said the fire sparked at around 9:45 a.m. and spread rapidly throughout the home. Heavy smoke was seen billowing from the several windows.
Inside the house were homeowner Carlos Sepulveda and his six dogs.
“My fire alarms were going off — ‘fire, fire, fire’ — you know what I mean?” he said. “I was looking for where the fire, but I couldn’t find it, and I ran out. I saw the flames, and I tried to grab a pot of water, but the smoke was too much, and I had to run out.”
Sepulveda, 78, escaped the inferno with two dogs. The four others were trapped inside.
Firefighters were able to rescue three out of the four. Sadly, the last one didn’t make it.
“At this time, one of the dogs, unfortunately, has passed, but through the efforts of the crews on scene, they were able to provide medical care to the balance of the dogs,” said FLFR Firefighter Matty Johnson.
Crews arrived at the home less than five minutes after the fire broke out and were able to quickly extinguish the flames in just over 20 minutes.
Sepulveda said he stepped outside for a moment to work on something, then went back inside, only to realize the house was on fire.
“It’s horrible, you know. I mean, the smoke was asphyxiating me. It wasn’t letting me breathe, and I ran out,” he said.
Officials said firefighters found the four canines that were trapped inside hiding under a bed.
“A lot of people’s lives and children so, I mean, we come from a very aggressive search culture here at this department, so we take the same amount of pride in finding a pet than we do a person,” said Johnson.
After knocking down the flames, crews began to ventilate the property. 7Skyforce hovered above the scene as thin clouds of smoke filled the air while firefighters monitored any hotspots.
The majority of the house is OK, but certain parts did sustain severe smoke damage. The fire did not cause any damage to neighboring structures.
Sepulveda’s family said 2-year-old Indica was the dog that perished.
“Indica was my world. Indica was, like, if I birthed her. That’s what she was to me,” said Kathryn Munoz, a family member.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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