Family safe after fire erupts in their SW Miami-Dade home
MIAMI - A southwest Miami-Dade family will have to find a place to live after an overnight fire left their house uninhabitable.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said around 2 a.m. more than 20 firefighters were sent to battle the flames at 15345 SW 178th Terrace.
"On arrival we found flames coming out of the window on the front of the house. Heavy smoke, smoke banking down approximately halfway down from the ceiling. So there was a lot of fire and a lot of smoke upon arrival but we were able to put it under control in 20 minutes," said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's Maggie Castro.
Homeowner Juan Forte said tried to put out the fire and move things with his own hands, luckily all four people and the pets inside the home made it out safely.
"I was just trying to save my birds, my dog, my kids, it's something you've been building your life and it's gone, " said homeowner Juan Forte.
Forte says that investigators think it was something electrical that blew in the wall that may have started the fire.
Castro said it was lucky they arrived very quickly or the damage could've been much worse.
"We were down the street, we were coming back from another fire and we got dispatched to this fire. We were able to get here quickly and put out the fire as quickly as we did and save the rest of the house from catching fire and burning down," she said.
Forte says everything in the home is a total loss but he's thankful all his family and animals are safe