A South Florida man and his family were jolted from their bed and ran for their lives as flames erupted at a home in Miami early Easter morning.
Sadly, the blaze claimed the lives of eight cockatiels, according to owner David Rodriguez.
The massive fire engulfed part of the home on Southwest 19th Street and 18th Avenue around 2 in the morning. He said he and his family were sleeping when they heard noises and saw the flames.
"We was [sic] running for our lives," said Rodriguez.
The family and their dogs escaped the inferno without injury, but their exotic birds did not make it out alive.
Rodriguez told NBC 6 in Spanish that the fire department took 20 minutes to arrive and that when they did, firefighters did not have water. He said can be heard on video yelling at firefighters as they scrambled to pump water through their hoses. Fire officials said the position of the fire made the process difficult and access to water a challenge.
"We had a difficult time getting access to the property, so that delayed our ability to get water on to the fire at that time. But, we eventually did and we were able to save approximately three or four structures from expanding and getting a lot worse," said Erik Pace, Miami Fire Department. Pace also said several propane tanks near the fire may have exploded during the blaze.
Local
The homeowner said their was a fight outside of his neighbor's home right before the flames engulfed the area.
"They was [sic] smoking weed and doing barbecue and screaming. And, apparently, getting in a fight. At some point, everything started on fire," said Rodriguez.
Fire officials said at least one unit was heavily damaged. The case of the fire is under investigation.
