WILTON MANORS, FLA. (WSVN) - A fire tore through a Wilton Manors home early Monday morning, leaving a family without a home.
Around 5:45 a.m. Monday, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue responded to calls of a fire at the 1700 block of Northeast 27th Street.
Officials say they arrived at the home where they found a fire burning on the side of the residence where the power came in through.
The fire had extended into the home’s attic, complicating firefighters’ efforts to extinguish it, and efforts were further complicated by the fact that power could not be shut down for over an hour and a half, causing additional danger to firefighters on the scene.
All three occupants inside the home, a grandfather, grandmother and their grandson, had all safely made it out of the home upon their arrival.
The family told 7News that they heard a loud boom and saw flames shortly after.
A neighbor said they heard and saw the commotion early Monday morning.
“And then when he came outside, he happened to notice the flames on the back of the house, it sounded like popping noises,” said Bob Leibensperger, a neighbor.
“There was smoke coming from the house about maybe like around 5:30 a.m., and then as many as ten trucks were here putting out the fire,” said another neighbor. “I saw some of the firefighters get up on the roof, the smoke started billowing from the vent on the top of the roof, and then I think they cut a hole, and then there was even more smoke.”
Photos provided by FLFR show extensive damage to the home’s electrical system outside.
Neighbors said they also lost power.
“The fire department came and then, after they were here for awhile, we had called to let FPL know that we were losing power in our house,” said Leibensperger.
According to officials, the fire was extinguished by 8:15 a.m., but the family of three has been displaced and is being connected with the Red Cross for assistance.
The neighbors who reported losing power have since had their services restored once it was safe for crews to do so.
“Power outage can be dealt with. Fire on the other hand, moving out of your house; been through it twice, so I know what it’s like,” said Leibensperger.
While the cause appears to be electrical, the fire is still under investigation.
A GoFundMe was created to help the family get back on their feet.
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