MARGATE, FLA. (WSVN) - A firefight turned deadly when a child and a dog were found dead after flames tore through a Margate home.
Margate Fire, Coconut Creek, Coral Springs-Parkland and North Lauderdale Fire Rescue units responded to the 5500 block of Southwest Sixth Street on Thursday afternoon.
7Skyforce hovered over the home, capturing flames and heavy smoke billowing from the back area of the home. A hole was seen on the roof.
Fire crews were seen working in the back area where the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom were engulfed in flames.
Family members confirmed to 7News that a child was found dead inside the home.
Firefighters also pulled a deceased dog from the home.
The medical examiner was captured at the scene.
Neighbors told 7News the child was 13-years-old and had special needs.
“I witnessed the grandma and a friend of hers were in the driveway. She said her grandson was inside the house because he had just gotten off the school bus and he said, ‘Grandma, I’m going to take a shower.’ She said he’s of special needs,” said a neighbor who did not want to show her face.
That neighbor went on to detail the sad turn of events to 7News.
“I just saw the fire blazing, and I said, ‘Oh my God.’ It’s so sad because you’re going to lose everything,” she said. “When I saw the black, thick smoke, I just said to myself, ‘This is just so real.'”
She said she will never forget the horror that took place in her neighborhood.
“We were all running toward [the house] to see,” she said.
She shared cellphone video with 7News capturing the heavy smoke and flames as she alerted others of the burning home. She said she was devastated as she learned of the tragic news.
“Just imagine as a 12-year-old special needs child, you’re in the shower and you come out to see blazing smoke. You wouldn’t know what to do. It was so sad when we heard he passed,” she said.
The flames downed several power lines, causing the power to go out in the neighborhood. A Florida Power & Light crew responded to the residential area.
7News spoke with the child’s father off-camera Friday morning, who confirmed the boy had Down Syndrome. He was seen salvaging what he could from the burnt structure.
It remains unclear what started the fire.
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