Weather may have sparked fire that destroyed Pembroke Park mobile home
PEMBROKE PARK — A fire caused by extreme weather left a Broward County mobile home in complete ruin on Tuesday morning.
Just before 9 a.m., Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue received a call for a residential fire located at 3150 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd. in Pembroke Park, where firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the front of a mobile home in La Siesta Mobile Home Park.
About 40 firefighters responded and extinguished the flames in about 20 minutes, preventing the fire from spreading to two adjacent homes, according to a press release from BSFR.
Two adults who occupied the home were able to get out safely before firefighters arrived and were not injured.
According to BSFR, powerful storms moving throughout the area and lightning might have contributed to the fire as evidenced by a downed powerline near the burned home.
"We suspect that possibly lightning caused the powerline to fall, which may have contributed to the structure fire," said BSFR Battalion Chief Michael Kane.
CBS News Miami's Ted Scouten spoke with Alberto Chonati, a resident who was home when the fire happened.
"Like a boom, the thunder [went] straight to the powerbox — the electrical box — straight boom and started the fire immediately," Chonati said.
The Florida State Fire Marshal is investigating the fire.