Police say an elderly man and several of his cats were able to escape an early morning fire inside a townhome in Kendall Thursday.
Crews arrived at the scene near Southwest 116th Terrace and 113th Avenue just before 5:45 a.m. to deal with the two-alarm blaze that spread to other townhouses nearby.
Firefighters were able to contain the fire and put it out shortly before 7 a.m.
"It was tremendous, it was 30 feet high," said Mario Mier, a neighbor who woke up to fire crews putting out the blaze. "It was so powerful in the backyard that it was scary."
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lt. Felipe Lay told reporters that neighbors got the man and his pets out of their home before it was too late.
The homeowner told NBC 6 that he had six cats and three of them are fine - but fears the other three may have died in the fire.
Lay said a total of four homes were damaged, with two of the units destroyed.
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The cause of the fire is being investigated.