HIALEAH, FLA. (WSVN) - A Hialeah family is thankful everyone is OK, including several pets, after a fire broke out overnight.
The house located near West 58th Street and 15th Court sustained damage from the fire, which could be seen clearly in the daylight, Tuesday.
Hialeah Fire Rescue officials said because the house has significant roof damage, the structure is uninhabitable.
Fire rescue crews responded to the home, late Monday night.
“I saw the smoke coming out the top of the roof, and the smoke was extremely thick,” said Urbano Mederos, who rushed from work after a call from a family member.
Investigators said the fire started in a bedroom before it spread to the attic.
According to officials, everyone made it out safely.
Officials said there were several pets inside the home.
Mederos rushed into the home along with firefighters to make sure all the pets made it out safely.
“I ran over here, and everything was on fire. There was smoke coming out the roof, and I tried to just get the pets to safety,” said Mederos. “That was the main concern.”
“They said that the pets were still not secured, so I ran around the side of the house to try and get the pets to safety,” he added. “There’s a few pets, about seven dogs, about two or three cats and a pig.”
They were all successfully rescued and are said to be OK.
Neighbors said they woke up to the commotion.
“I don’t know. I’m speechless of how close I am to these people,” a neighbor said. “That fire could have spread.”
Mederos said he can laugh now that it’s over, and he knows everyone is OK. “I thank God that everybody is fine and that I was able to respond when they needed me,” he said. “We were able to survive this. We live to see another day.”
The Red Cross responded to the scene to help the family who has been temporarily displaced, as the home suffered extensive smoke damage.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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