LAUDERHILL, FLA. (WSVN) - A family and their cats made a fire escape after their Lauderhill home went up in flames, but one of their pets would not make it out alive.
Firefighters with Lauderhill Fire Rescue taped off Northwest 83rd Avenue near 50th Street after they received a call about the blaze, at around 1 p.m., Saturday.
“When crews arrived a short while later, they found a house with heavy smoke and flames showing from the front of the house,” said Lauderhill Fire Rescue spokesperson Jeff Levy. “When I say heavy flames, they were coming out of the windows and the doors in the front of the house.”
7News cameras showed the garage cut open and several items damaged in the aftermath of the fire.
The three people who live there thankfully walked out OK but homeowner Eileen Worst was devastated.
“She lit a candle and left the room,” she said.
Summer Carroll, who also lives in the home, was left shaken as well.
“Very stressed right now, very in shock. I don’t really know how to feel,” she said.
Firefighters said they quickly went into the house to check for any other people inside. They rescued three cats, but one of them did not survive.
Worst said she is unsure about what her next steps will be.
“When I paid off the house, I stopped the insurance, so now I’m in a mess,” she said.
Part of the street where the house is located remained blocked off as of 6:30 p.m.
Officials have not specified the official cause of the fire, as they continue to investigate.
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