Miami Townhouse Severely Damaged By Early Morning Fire

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A fire ripped through a Miami townhouse early Tuesday morning.

It happened just after 5 a.m. at 310 NW 20th Street.

Arriving firefighters found heavy smoke and flames coming out of the windows of the home. It took firefighters about 20 minutes to knock it down.

"She said my house burned, my house burned, Mama, Oh my God," said Antoinette Hixon, sitting in a lounge chair looking on at her daughter's gutted home, in disbelief over what just happened.

"I've seen this on TV but I never thought, I never thought," she said, shaking her head.

Hixon told CBS4's Rielle Creighton that she left a candle burning in the kitchen on the stove and that she thought she had blown out before leaving. They believe that is what started the fire.

"We slept all night with that candle on, but I thought guess she blew it out, it sparked, she thought she blew it out, she never looked back to see if it was out," said Hixon.

Neighbors were evacuated from homes nearby as a precaution but no other houses were damaged and no one was hurt.

Hixon said her daughter's home is a total loss.