WILTON MANORS, FLA. (WSVN) - Rescue crews rushed two people to the hospital after a fire tore through a home in Wilton Manors.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue units responded to a single-family home located along the 500 block of Northwest 21st Street, Wednesday afternoon.
Aerial footage from 7Skyforce showed thick black smoke and flames coming from the roof of the residence.
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, a man and a woman, from the home.
Paramedics transported one of the victims to Broward Health Medical Center and airlifted the other to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Burn Center.
Both of them are listed in critical condition.
Officials said the heaviest flames occurred on the left side of the front of the home.
7News was told that area used to be a garage, but it was turned into an outdoor terrace with a screen.
Crews have extinguished the flames.
“The fire was stubborn. It probably took close to 45 minutes to get this fire under control. It was a difficult firefight,” said FLFR spokesperson 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.”
Neighbors said the victims are roughly in their 60s.
“Suddenly there were loads of people, and we told the police about that there were two people inside,” said a witness. “We were worried, but we didn’t know for sure if they were inside, but their car was there, and the good thing is we knew our neighbors, ’cause sometimes you don’t always know your neighbors.”
Miguel Flores said he immediately called 911 when he saw the flames taking over the home as his neighbors were trapped inside.
“I saw, like, smoke, and then I went closer to the door, and then the fire started,” he said. “[Crews] showed up quick, and the fire went quick, so quick.”
Flores said he saw the outdoor terrace fill with smoke.
“They have, like, a dining table, then it started to go on fire. Then you hear glass breaking, and then you couldn’t see anything,” he said.
Larry Scott said he went to check on his friends who live a few doors down from the burned home. While his friends were OK, he said he is still thinking about the victims who were taken to the hospital.
“That’s a happy and sad situation. I mean, you feel good for the people you know and sad for the people you don’t,” he said.
The home remained cordoned off with crime scene tape Wednesday night. A bright orange sign reading “unsafe” was posted on the front window.
Crews were at the house on Wednesday night to begin boarding up the affected area. That will taken them several hours.
Men in hazmat suits were seen investigating the rubble Thursday morning.
According to officials, two dogs, reportedly belonging to the victims, are currently missing. Fire crews were unable to find them inside on Wednesday.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the State Fire Marshal, however it is electrical in nature.
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