WILTON MANORS, FLA. (WSVN) - A family is grieving an immeasurable loss after a man lost his life after flames erupted from his home in Wilton Manors.
The son of the man, a captain with Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, told 7News his father, identified as Charles Bloch, would succumb to his injuries. His stepmother, who was also inside the home, is still recovering in critical condition at the hospital.
He was looking through the rubble of his father’s home when he received the initial news of the flames breaking out Wednesday afternoon.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue units worked to try and rescue the elderly couple from inside the home.
“The fire was stubborn. It probably took close to 45 minutes to get this fire under control. It was a difficult fire to fight,” said Frank Guzman. “There were a lot of complications. There were a lot of things in the home that made it difficult to move around and to put out the fire.”
Bloch’s other son, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Jason Bloch, wrote in an Instagram post for Father’s Day last year:
“Thank you for everything you do! Grateful for my father, who helped me become the man I am today and served this great nation in the US Army.”
The couple’s two dogs are still missing and feared dead after fire crews were unable to find them Wednesday.
“I just hope and pray that the dogs just ran out,” a neighbor, Dori Summer, said. “The thought of what could’ve happened in a fire with dogs is just horrific.”
Dozens of crews arrived within five minutes and began battling the flames from inside and then outside the house. Firefighters were able to pull the two victims from the home.
Initially both victims were transported to Broward Health Medical Center, but then paramedics airlifted Bloch’s wife, Laurie, to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Burn Center in Miami.
“Firefighters pulled them from the home, which was still actively burning, and transported them to the trauma center at Broward Health Medical Center,” said FLFR public information officer Frank Guzman.
Miguel Flores, one of the people who initially called 911 at around 1:20 p.m., said he called when he saw the flames taking over the home as his neighbors were trapped inside.
FLFR crews arrived in four minutes to the home along the 500 block of Northwest 21st Street.
According to firefighters, the heaviest part of the fire was centered on the front of the house, where a garage had been turned into an outdoor terrace with a screen.
“They have, like, a dining table, and then it started to go on fire. Then you hear glass breaking, and then you couldn’t see anything,” Miguel said.
A bright orange sign has since been posted on the front window, calling the Wilton Manors home unsafe.
Residents were devastated for what their neighbors lost. They said they were worried at the time that the father would have a hard time making it out of the blaze, as he has had a difficult time walking lately.
“It’s extremely unfortunate, you know, I feel for the family,” Ryan White, a neighbor, said. “It could happen to anybody, right? Just a fire going up and like, what do you do?”
“It’s terrible for them,” Janet Slaytor, another neighbor, told 7News. “They don’t have anywhere to live. Look at the house. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
According to the State Fire Marshal, the fire was electrical in nature; however, the cause remains under investigation.
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