MARGATE, FLA. (WSVN) - A grieving sibling is speaking out one day after his 13-year-old brother died in a fire inside their Margate home, leaving his family devastated.
Speaking with 7News on Friday, Gavin McCoy identified his brother as Gianni Jackson.
The victim’s father had break the news to the school bus driver Friday morning that son was killed in a house fire Thursday afternoon.
McCoy told 7News off camera that his brother had Down syndrome, but that never stopped him from being independent and was loved by everyone.
Neighbors and nearby witnesses were reeling over the family’s loss.
“Can’t even begin to understand what he’s feeling right now,” said Erick, a neighbor of the family.
The house fire along the 5500 block of Southwest Sixth Street and took the life of the boy and one of the family’s dogs, after it tore through and destroyed the home.
A neighbor who did not want to be identified shared cellphone video with 7News that captured heavy smoke and flames as she alerted others about the burning home.
“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,” she said.
The neighbor said she was devastated when she learned 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.
According to the Margate Fire Department, the flames were so extreme that one of their firefighters’ gear and pants caught on fire. Fortunately, that firefighter was not injured.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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