Clewiston police officer’s LaBelle home destroyed by fire, 4 pets killed

A Clewiston police officer’s LaBelle home has been destroyed by a fire, killing four of his pets.

According to the Clewiston Police Department, Officer Raul Garza was on duty on Tuesday when he was notified that his home in LaBelle had caught fire.

The fire department and sheriff’s office responded to find that all people got out safely but some of his pets passed away in the blaze.

The house and all its contents were a complete loss.

In addition to Garza and his girlfriend, six children, ranging in age from 8 to 16, have also lost their clothing and belongings.

Garza said it’s suspected this was all caused by some hoverboards they had charging in the garage. The lithium batteries caught fire and quickly spread through the house, taking everything in sight. Highly flammable kayaks in the garage also didn’t help.

All that remains of the LaBelle home is shattered windows, a burnt-down roof and fire-torn walls.

Garza said he has seen it all as a police officer, but this was different.

“I get those phone calls all the time, said Garza. “Hey, this person’s house, or this person that, I mean, I’m a cop, but when it’s your own, it’s different.”

Garza was out handling a theft call when his life forever changed.

“I got the call while I was working on the report, and they told me the house is on fire,” said Garza. “That was all they said, so I was like, oh, man, I gotta go.”

His home of two years was engulfed in flames. To make matters worse, Garza and his girlfriend Ashley share six kids together and five of them were inside, home alone.

“I just rushed over here trying to make sure everything was good,” said Garza. “When I got here, they were all standing out there and they were just in tears. She was in tears, and she beat me here. So she was in tears.”

But their oldest, Jake’s quick thinking got them out untouched.

“He helped usher everybody out the house, and then the second oldest, Abby. She was actually very brave,” said Garza. “I was told by multiple sources that she actually ran over to that house over there, and just ran straight into the house asking for fire extinguishers, and then she grabbed two of them, ran back in and tried to put the fire out.”

But it was no use. The fire burned for hours, taking the lives of four beloved pets. A 15-year-old dog named Chippy, their other dog Cow-Cow and two cats, Fluffles and Downey.

And in the face of so much loss, it’s easy to feel pain.

“It took years to build this and get to where it was. To lose it in a matter of minutes, you know, it’s nuts,” said Garza.

But it’s the community’s support that keeps Garza going.

“I’ve been all day just running around, trying to make everything right again, trying to rebuild years in what, a day or so,” said Garza. “And everybody’s helping, and I appreciate them so much. Like I said, I’m not doing it alone. Everybody’s helping. All these hands are definitely helping to do this.”

One of Garza’s pets made it out of the fire, a cat named Toothless. Two other pets were already outside when the fire broke out, Ollie and Shadow.