HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – A family in Hollywood has been displaced following a fire over the weekend. They have lost their home and their beloved dog.
Investigators say the extensive damage inside the room being used at a home office, inside rental home on Moseley Street, was caused by an electrical fire.
The flames sparked around noon on Saturday, filling the home with black smoke.
Johnathan Austin, a technician at Memorial Regional Hospital and the tenant of the rental home, said he and his two young daughters had just gotten home after taking his wife to work, when he saw scary amounts of black smoke coming out of the house.
Once he was able to open the door, he says the first thing he did was call for the family dog, 11-year-old Shailoh.
“He was a rescue dog. He was there when my youngest was born, so it’s, it’s pretty tough,” said Austin.
Austin says Shailoh’s body was recovered from the master bedroom.
“Fortunately he wasn’t burned. It seemed like he suffered from smoke inhalation. When they brought him out it looked like he was sleeping,” said Austin.
The family is staying with relatives but they have lost almost everything, just weeks away from the holiday season.
Loved ones have created a GoFundMe page to help raise funds to help them get back on their feet. To contribute, click on this link.