MIAMI (WSVN) - A Miami house erupted in heavy flames and filled one neighborhood’s sky with smoke, Wednesday morning.
Miami Fire Rescue responded to the scene of the fire at a home located between Northwest 22nd Place and 18th Street in Miami. “The crews responded to a fire earlier this morning that had flames and smoke showing,” said Miami Fire Rescue Captain Ignatius Carroll. “This is a house that is known to be cluttered with a lot of stuff in the yard and also, inside of the house.”
Officials said the home is occupied by a man, his mother and his two pets. According to Miami Fire Rescue, the homeowner’s puppies may have saved his life. As the fire began to spread throughout the house, officials said, the dogs started barking.
7 Skyforce also flew over the scene where fire rescue crews worked on getting into the home, which was heavily fortified by steel bars. Crews were forced to fight the fire from the outside after the roof collapsed, officials said.
“We’ve been here before, and we know the amount of clutter that is on the inside and the outside of the house,” Carroll said. “He has fuel containers, he has machinery, he has a vehicle that may be a fuel load as well, so it’s a recipe for disaster for anyone living here, but obviously very dangerous for firefighters.”
Firefighters had to reportedly get on top of a neighboring roof while attempting to extinguish the fire.
After the flames and smoke began to settle, officials found the owner outside of the home. “Later on, during the firefight, they found that the owner was actually outside of the building,” said Carroll. “His dogs were with him.”
The man was able to make it out of the fire and to a neighbor’s house, but at first, he seemed to be more concerned for his property than his life.
One neighbor recorded the scene of the massive flames. “Grabbed my passport, and I just ran out,” said neighbor Brian Parkhurst. “It was terrifying. It happened all so fast.”
According to Carroll, one of the struggles was keeping the neighboring homes safe, but the fire has since been contained and it did not affect nearby houses.
No injuries were reported as a result of the fire and efforts to extinguish it by firefighters.
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