NORTH MIAMI, FLA. (WSVN) - A man and his family are thankful to be alive after they narrowly escaped a house fire that sparked overnight in North Miami.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to the scene of the blaze in the area of Northeast 15th Avenue and 141st Street, just after 4 a.m. on Thursday.

Crews arrived at the home to find it engulfed in flames. Fire was shooting out of every part of the house and illuminating the dark sky.

7News was there as the homeowner, Jose Patalano, used a garden hose to try and fight the flames before firefighters arrived.

He said the flames were everywhere he looked.

“Fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire,” he said.

Patalano said his wife woke him up to alert him about billows of smoke filling the residence.

The couple’s daughters, ages 9 and 12, were asleep inside, as well as their two dogs.

“I was afraid, because one of my dogs was missing. He was in the room, and I couldn’t get in because it was so much smoke,” he said as he showed how he used his shirt to cover his mouth. “I broke the back [door]. I don’t know how he got out.”

Even after crews arrived, a shirtless Patalano continued to work frantically alongside them to help in any way he could.

“I grabbed a piece of two-by-four and broke a window,” he said.

Firefighters were eventually able to extinguish the flames, leaving the family with nothing but soot, ash and one another.

“It kills me seeing my kids crying. It’s my house, my room, my everything, you know? It’s materials,” said Patalano.

Patalano, his family and their pets are all OK.

The damage to the home was extensive and visible from the outside. The exterior of the home was charred and covered in soot.

Nevertheless, Patalano and others began minimal repair on the damaged structure and were seen boarding up the windows.

The homeowner said he is grateful the outcome was not worse.

“We’re all safe, we’re good. It’s only a house,” he said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

A GoFundMe page has been created to assist the family. If you would like to donate, click here.

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