Caught on Camera

‘No one could survive that': Video shows deadly, ‘suspicious' Deerfield Beach fire

Astonishing video caught a wall of orange as flames engulfed a home, leaving a woman dead. Authorities say the fire is "suspicious in nature," and neighbors recall a "big boom."

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Astonishing video shows how a fire consumed a Deerfield Beach home and left a woman dead in what authorities are calling "suspicious" circumstances on Friday.

Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue firefighters responded to the scene at Northwest 43rd Street and Northwest 4th Avenue at around 4:30 a.m. and encountered heavy smoke and flames coming from one side of the duplex, Battalion Chief Michael Kane said.

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As firefighters battled the flames, they found the victim deceased in a back bedroom, Kane said.

Officials identified the victim as Ana de Souza. Her daughter said 54-year-old De Souza is her mother, but identified her as Paula Ribeiro, a mother of four.

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Daughter Kimberly Silva said she received a hysterical call from a family member Friday morning informing her of the fire.

"I ran to my mother’s address and that’s when I saw flames and fire everywhere," said Silva, who described her mother as devoted to her faith. "Devastated. She didn’t deserve this. Her life was just going to church and coming home being with her children."

Paula Ribeiro
Family Photos
Paula Ribeiro

Silva added that her mother had a volatile relationship with her ex-boyfriend, who she'd only been dating for six months. She said the boyfriend's whereabouts were unknown.

"I want justice for my mother because she didn’t deserve to die like that. From the way that they found her, she wasn’t completely burnt. But from the evidence that they saw at the moment, it showed that there was evidence that she was murdered before the fire," Silva said.

“How she passed away is terrible. Terrible. I can’t believe it. She was a very nice person. So sweet. So sweet,” said David Liz, a friend of the victim.

The family next to the unit that caught fire was able to escape, and the fire was knocked down in about 20 minutes, Kane said.

But long after fire crews cleared out, the Broward Sheriff's Office and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives continue investigating.

Kane said the cause of the fire remains under investigation but is considered "suspicious."

"At this time, the fire is considered suspicious in nature, but the cause of the fire is not being released at this time," Kane said.

Cellphone video taken by the family who lives across the street captured the popping of flames.

"It was just orange... It was four little windows and it was just orange. I thought it was in our driveway. I have six kids. We grabbed the newborn, put her in the car seat, when we ran outside," neighbor Alicia Baiocchi said.

She thought her house was on fire at first, and her fiancé Alfredo Moran recorded video of the blaze.

"I heard a big boom, and I look outside my window and I see it’s the house right in front, engulfed in flames," he said.

"It happened very fast, and it was completely--like, there was no way someone could survive that," Baiocchi said.

The home next door in the duplex had heavy smoke, but the family and a dog were able to make it out safely.

"The neighbor that wasn’t affected said he heard her screams," Baiocchi said. "I said, 'Did she yell for help?' He said he just heard screams."

A family is mourning a 54-year-old mother who was killed in what officials are calling a "suspicious" house fire. NBC6's Amanda Plasencia reports

The fire spread to the home next door, where Ariana Hunter and her family live. Hunter was asleep and smelled something burning. When she got up, she saw the fire outside her kitchen window.

“I just yelled for everyone to get up and said it was a fire,” Hunter said.

Hunter, her husband, daughter and their dog couldn't go out the front or back door because there was too much fire and smoke. She said they had to climb out the living room window.

“I told my daughter, you go first, I let my husband go, I moved the sofa then I climbed out last,” Hunter said.

Hunter said she didn't know much about her neighbor but she can't imagine what that family is going through.

“It's sad, I feel for the family, my prayers go out to them,” Hunter said. “It's bittersweet but as long as we have our life we're okay. I trust and believe in God, He got us.”

Neighbors were shocked by the crime scene on their street.

"In any second, any part of that could’ve just landed on our driveway. God forbid there was any gasoline," Baiocchi said. "I don't know, it was just intense."

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