Fire damages Pine Island home

Stuff was strewn across a lawn as firefighters surrounded a Pine Island home that caught on fire. Caution tape was up to stop anyone from getting in.

Smoke was seen through the roof when firefighters got to the home.

One neighbor said she and her boyfriend had just got home when they saw the homeowner across the street crawling outside his home coughing. Then, they saw smoke and put two and two together.

They immediately dialed 911, and within minutes, Matlacha and Pine Island Fire Control District showed up at the home on Avenue D in Bokeelia around 1 p.m.

When crews got out, they saw the two homeowners outside, the wife standing and the husband lying on the grass from smoke inhalation.

That man was taken to the hospital by ambulance for smoke inhalation.

At the same time, firefighters immediately worked to put out the flames, which they say sparked in the kitchen area of the home, likely from cooking.

Deborah, a neighbor, said she and her boyfriend didn’t think twice before calling for help.

“Greg, who’s the owner, came crawling out the front door coughing and choking and said he couldn’t find his phone and called 911, so we called 911,” she said.

She was asked what was going through her mind when she saw this happening.

“You just call 911. I’m a social worker, so I don’t panic and all that stuff. That’s when we saw the smoke coming out and like it was coming out of the roof there,” she said.

The homeowner said her husband is still in the hospital but is expected to be okay.

Pine Island Matlacha fire said it’s going to take some work to get this home back to normal, but with some work, it’s expected to be okay.