Frauds, Fakes, Or Fabulous
Jul 5, 2008 10:51 pm US/Eastern
Morning Fire Leaves 13 Victims Without A Home
5 Adults & Six Toddlers Were Inside; Others Were Out Of The House
One Family Was Living In A Converted Carport
3000 Block Of NW 5th Court, Central Broward
CENTRAL BROWARD (CBS4) ―
An early morning fire in Central Broward left 13 victims without a place to stay Saturday.
Six adults and five young children had to escape from the burning house after one of the residents noticed the fire and woke everyone up to get out. BSO Fire Rescue arrived on scene of the fire at the 3000 block of NW 5th Court after 2 a.m. They had to fight the flames that emanated from the middle of the single family home.
13 people reportedly live in the home that has divided living quarters.
Here is a breakdown of victims:
-
Junior Roberts, 30 &
Astrid Hall, 32. They have two children who live with them but were staying with a relative at the time of the fire.
-Another couple,
Sean Harrington, 37, and
Essence Brown, 29 was also in the home.
-
Reginald Lovett and
Anita Henley, both 19, live in the attached enclosed carport of the house with their twins and two other children, all under the age of three.
-One adult,
Chad Sapp, 39 was not home when the blaze broke out.
One of these inhabitants reported seeing a couch on fire when he woke up. Shortly afterward a smoke alarm fire went off when he opened a door in the home.
Neighbors say that the house had different rooms housing different people or families. BSO investigators will try to find out if this was being used as a rooming house.
"We don't know if it's been done legal or illegally yet," said Sheriff Al Lamberti. "That's part of the investigation. We will determine that, and once we've determined that we will look at owner of the residence and determine whether there are code violations that need to be cited."
Investigators are determining the ultimate cause of the fire and are looking into whether smoking may be to blame.
No injuries have been reported.
The Red Cross is assisting the families with a place to stay and other needs.
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