FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Ferocious orange flames whirled through an already charred wooden attic frame and flames vented through the barrel tile roofline of an 8,000 square foot, 3-story waterfront home in Fort Lauderdale’s Rio Vista neighborhood.
One neighbor told Local 10 News that she had never seen so many firefighters. On Friday afternoon, 50 firefighters were on site at the fire raging from the roof of the 1800 block of SE 7th Street, just east of downtown.
Crews responded to the scene just after 12:45 p.m. Friday taking hours for firefighters to get the blaze under control.
Arriving units first tried to attack the fire from inside, but with the property flanked by the New River, access to the home was difficult.
According to Battalion Chief Stephen Gollan said that they were unable to put ladder trucks behind the house.
Everyone in the home escaped without injury. 1 firefighter was treated at the scene after overheating.
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As the fire intensified, a pivot in the approach happened as firefighters were pulled out of the home for their safety and they began attacking the blaze from the outside because of a concern that the roof could collapse.
Within an hour of an interview with the battalion chief, Sky 10 was overhead when a portion of the roof collapsed.
Edd Helms, a nearby resident, said that the homeowner had told him that there were workers on the roof or inside the attic. “Apparently they were welding.”
Gollan said: “I don’t know if those were metal workers or roof workers. I know there was construction work being done at that time and that construction is believed to have started the fire.”
The exact cause is under investigation.
Firefighters remained at the scene for hours before getting the blaze under control.