FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Fort Lauderdale family of four has been displaced and one person has been hospitalized after a fire broke out and destroyed their home, and they said their smoke detectors played a crucial role in their safe escape.
The fire broke out at a home along the 1500 block of Southwest 31st Avenue, just before 4 a.m., Friday.
“At 3:40 in the morning, we woke up, and the house was full of smoke, pretty much everywhere,” said homeowner Jackson Valiente. “It was really scary, to say the least. It was probably the scariest experience of my life.”
Valiente said the fire started in his 16-year-old daughter’s bedroom.
“Her door was sort of open, and she was sort of up already, but it was insane to be in that room, like, with that much smoke,” he said.
Valiente’s son was in the next room sound asleep.
When asked what was going through his mind, the boy replied, “I was scared.”
His father pulled him to safety.
“He was asleep, so I had to pull them out first, and then I went back into the house numerous times because we rescue a lot of animals,” said Valiente.
Several cats and dogs were inside. One of the cats did not survive.
Fire crews responded to the home shortly after. The windows to the home were shuttered, so firefighters had to cut them away to create an opening.
Video footage showed flames and heavy black smoke billowing from the home.
“Crews immediately stretched a line to the room where the fire was at, while another crew assisted them with rescuing animals,” said Fort Lauderdale Fire Battalion Chief Stephen Gollan. “They were able to quickly extinguish the fire to the back bedroom.”
The homeowner’s daughter was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. Valiente said she is going to spend the night at the hospital and should be discharged sometime on Saturday.
7News cameras captured extensive damage inside the home, Friday afternoon. Hours later, an exterior view showed a charred front door, windows busted out and pieces of the property hanging off.
Officials said, without the smoke detectors alerting the family about the fire, the outcome could have been much worse.
“This scenario today is proof that smoke alarms really, truly do save lives,” said Gollan.
“We don’t have now a place to stay, and fortunately, you know, we’re alive, you know what I mean, but that was pretty much, thankfully, because of the smoke alarms really that we got out of here in time,” Valiente said, “because honestly, it was moving real fast.”
Firefighters said they believe an outlet in the room sparked the fire. It remains under investigation.
The American Red Cross will help the family for a few days.
Friends of the family have set up a GoFundMe page to assist them.
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