Neighbors recount garage fire at Cape Coral home

Reporter: Michelle Alvarez Writer: Drew Hill
Published: Updated:
cape coral house fire 2.4
cape coral house fire 2.4

A family of four is safe after their garage caught fire on Friday evening in Cape Coral. This happened near the 200-block of El Dorado Boulevard. WINK News spoke to the family’s neighbors who saw the smoke coming from the home.

Phyllis Osterlund said she couldn’t believe what was happening. “It was unbelievable. We were standing up here on the porch watching it, and it was just like a swoop. And the whole neighborhood here, all these houses were in black,” said Osterlund.

Confi Miranda was at his home across the street when he heard a loud noise. “I was watching TV and thought it was an accident. So, I ran out and said, let me see what happened,” said Miranda.

When he first walked outside, he said it seemed to be a small fire in the garage, so he didn’t think much of it. “I came back and told the wife, ‘hey, call 9-1-1. There’s a fire across the street!'” he said.

He said in just minutes, the fire grew tremendously in size. “Within a minute or two, it just spread out and took over the garage,” Miranda said.

So, Miranda decided to go in by himself. “I just ran out across, and the door was open…the front door. I went into the living room area, and I hollered, ‘is there anybody home? Is there anybody here?'” he said.

When he didn’t hear a response, he decided it was time to get out of the house. “As I’m going to walk out, I trip over a puppy. A little black puppy, poodle that they had. It was shivering, and I just grabbed him pulled him out. There was nothing else I could do. By that time, the fire was just spreading. It was spreading, and it was spreading fast,” said Miranda.

Four people were inside that home at the time, but luckily no one was injured, including the pets.

Miranda really hopes his neighbors can come back to their house. “I hate to lose them as neighbors, especially when you have good neighbors,” he said.

The fire inspector continues to investigate, but it is unlikely that the family will remain in the home.

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