DANIA BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Raging flames tore through a mobile home in Dania Beach and spread to two other homes, sending an elderly woman to the hospital.
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue units responded to the scene of the blaze along Southwest 58th Street, off Sheridan Street, just after 6 p.m., Wednesday.
The victim’s neighbor, Robert Zitrin, said he spotted the fast-spreading flames.
“I saw flames on her side, her house … and then all of a sudden, it just opened up,” he said.
Forty firefighters rushed to douse the blaze, as it consumed the doublewide mobile home and spread to other trailers.
“Another mobile home adjacent to that one already started to burn at that point,” said BSFR Battalion Chief Michael Kane. “With a very aggressive attack, the firefighters were able to put out the fire, save the other structure, in fact.”
Officials said the fire posed a threat to crews as it spread to two other homes.
“This certainly could have been a disaster,” said Kane.
Further complicating matters were several gallons of gas stored next door in anticipation of Hurricane Dorian, and Kane said that was not all.
“Then you had 250 gallons of propane in a tank in the house on the other side, which was in extremely close proximity to the bulk of the fire,” he said.
The owner of the mobile home where the fire started, 85-year-old Jean Ruppert, was able to escape with her life.
Brian Ruppert could be seen surveying the damage to his mother’s mobile home, Thursday. He said his mother lived at the home for 41 years, most of that time alone.
“I don’t know how she got out,” Ruppert said. “I haven’t talked to her. I’ve talked to my aunt, and that was it. I haven’t talked to anyone else.”
She remains in the hospital on Thursday, but Ruppert said she is expected to be OK and home from the hospital by Friday.
Zitrin said he tried to stop the spread with his hose. His house was one of the two other homes that sustained minor damage.
Paramedics transported the elderly woman to an area hospital with some respiratory issues.
7News cameras captured a collapsed house and a charred car under a carport.
The woman’s mobile home was declared a total loss.
Zitrin said he does not plan on staying at his home for his own safety.
“Too close. I don’t wanna sleep in the house because my wife has COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease],” he said.
Ruppert said he is glad his mother is OK.
“They said they think it was an electrical outlet from behind the couch, but who knows?” Ruppert said. “I guess it’s gonna be a matter of time.”
The state fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.
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