Family loses everything in Estero house fire

Authorities have responded to a house fire in Estero that also burned a billboard.

A cloud of black smoke blanketed the Covered Wagon Mobile Park as neighbors watched a fire eat at a home in their Estero community.

“I was really concerned about the people that was living there,” said neighbor Nancy V.

The fire broke out Wednesday around 3:45 p.m. on South Tamiami Trail in Estero.

“When we arrived here, there were neighbors actually breaking the windows out, looking for anybody inside,” said Assistant Fire Chief Mark Wahlig.

Luckily, nobody was inside or injured.

Estero Fire and Rescue said a failed electrical circuit sparked the fire.

Family memories suddenly turned to rubble. It’s a tragedy Marcela Medina unexpectedly came home to.

“Somebody called me and told me that ‘your house is on fire,'” said Medina.

Embraced by her neighbors, Medina stood face-to-face with the wreckage.

The only word to describe her pain: “Destruida” or destroyed.

Destroyed like the home she raised her family in.

“I don’t have family here. It’s only me, my kids and my husband,” said Medina.

As firefighters wrapped up, the homeowner told WINK News reporter Maddie Heron that she had lost everything in this fire. Her clothes. Her family photos. Everything her kids had.

“It is a tragedy when somebody loses contents or their home, or, in some cases, both. So it is tragic, especially for children. They don’t understand, process that,” said Wahlig.

Neighbors told WINK News the first person to see the thick black smoke was an 8-year-old boy who heard a loud bang before the smoke alerted him to the fire.

The boy told an adult, who then called 911.