FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Eleven people are safe after a fire broke out in a Fort Lauderdale home and spread to the one next door.
The fire started at a home near Northwest 69th Court and 31st Avenue, late Thursday afternoon.
Cellphone video captured billows of smoke filling the air.
“Oh, my gosh, that’s so bad,” a person recording the fire as they drove by said. “It’s getting worse by the second.”
Resident William Marley said he was sleeping when it started.
“I thought I was dreaming,” he said. “My grandma, I heard her screaming, yelling, ‘Fire, fire.'”
“I was in the shower, and I just heard screams, like, ‘Fire,’ and I smelled, like, smoke,” said Liam Marley.
Liam said the fire started on the family’s grill in the rear of the property.
“My grandma was grilling, and it started a fire, and it got out of control, and the propane tanks in the back just busted,” he said.
William said he ran through his home to get everyone out.
“I had to get my grandma out, I ran back for the dogs and then my brother,” he said.
Liam and William live inside the home with theor brothers, parents, grandparents and dogs.
The whole family got out safe, with the dogs inside a family truck, but the fire was still burning, and the flames spread to the back of the neighboring home, where a family of four lives.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue units responded to the furious flames at around 6 p.m.
“When we arrived on the scene, there were lots of complications, there were propane tanks that were burning, actively exploding,” said FLFR spokesperson Frank Guzman said.
The popping noises of those propane tanks could be heard in video provided by FLFR.
“There was a lot of debris that was burning. The propane tanks just made it difficult for us to access that area,” said Guzman.
Video of the aftermath showed both homes with extensive damage, with the back Florida room of one home completely destroyed, and the fence between both properties burnt down.
Friday afternoon, Liam returned to the charred home.
“It’s still super smoky, everything, you know. I had my door open ’cause I ran out, I didn’t think about closing my door,” he said. “All of my belongings are just in smoke and in soot.”
Homeowner John Marley and his family said that despite the heavy damage to the home, they’re just grateful nobody was hurt.
“We’re alive. It’s just another day, it’s a thing. If money bought it, money can fix it, so why am I going to worry?” John said.
“It’s not the greatest thing to wake up to, but we are all good,” William said.
“God blessed us with life. We got out all safe,” Liam said.
The American Red Cross is providing emergency aid to the three families, 11 people, including four children, impacted by the fire.
The cause of the fire remains unclear.
The Marleys have set up a GoFundMe page. If you would like to make a donation, click here.
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