SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - An elderly man has died and another man was taken to the hospital after a fire broke out inside a home in Southwest Miami-Dade.
Flames tore through a Kendall home near Southwest 80th Street and 94th Court, at around 3 a.m., Wednesday.
7News received cellphone video from neighbor Gaston De Cardenas, which showed the high flames billowing from the home.
In the video, a neighbor could be seen using a garden hose trying to put out the blaze.
“Get closer, you can get higher,” a man said in the video.
“From my patio, I could see that the backyard of my neighbor’s house was completely engulfed,” said De Cardenas.
Officials said the family that lives there were all asleep inside until their dog, Daisy, began barking.
“The dog is what most likely seems to have alerted the family to the fire in the first place,” said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Division Chief Marc Chavers.
Neighbors were also awoken by the dog’s barking.
“My neighbor that lived in the house, he came out, he was worried about his dog that woke them up,” said De Cardenas. “The dog was in the backyard. It looked like the dog got seriously burned, and that’s the reason why they were able to get out.”
Caridad Pino said her son, Peter Benitez, was inside his home with his girlfriend and three children when he woke up to his dog barking.
“When he realized what was happening, his thing was like, save the kids and get everybody out,” said Pino.
Firefighters responded to the scene and began battling the flames.
“The rear of the house was fully engulfed, a lot of fire in the backside of the house,” said Chavers. “The guys made entry into the house to prevent it from further spreading to the main part of the house.”
The fire crew said they were able to put the fire out in about 25 minutes.
Miami-Dade Police could be seen stationed outside the home after they blocked off parts of the roadway.
Benitez managed to get everyone out safely but hurt himself in the process. He was transported to the burn unit at HCA Florida Kendall Hospital.
“His whole face is burned, both of his arms and part of his back,” said Pino.
An elderly man who was living in an efficiency in the back of the home was pronounced dead by first responders.
Pino said she knew the man, who was renting the efficiency unit.
“He’s lived here for, like, five years,” said Pino. “He was a gentleman, a very nice gentleman. A very, very, very nice person. I’m devastated that someone lost their life.”
Wednesday morning, 7News cameras captured the charred remains of the rear part of the property.
The dog, Daisy, ran from the home, and the family is now looking for her.
They said she ran off when Benitez opened her crate.
“He opened the cage, and then she ran,” said Pino. “Then, he thought, because of the smoke, that she ran back inside. He went back inside, and that’s why he’s all burned.”
FPL crews were in the neighborhood restoring power after firefighters had to cut the power off to battle the blaze.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The family has created a Gofundme to help with their expenses as Peter recovers in the hospital.
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