A family’s dogs and reptiles were killed early Wednesday morning after a fire ignited inside their mobile home in southeast Ocala.
At around 3:10 a.m., Marion County Fire Rescue units were dispatched to a home located in the 100 block of SE 81st Street in Ocala. According to MCFR, multiple individuals had called 911 to report that a house was on fire and explosions were being heard in the area.
In addition, MCFR was informed that multiple dogs and reptiles were trapped inside the mobile home.
Within around three minutes, the first MCFR unit arrived on scene and observed a mobile home that was “50% involved in flames.”
The perimeter of the mobile home was inspected, and firefighters immediately deployed hoses to attack the flames.
Additional MCFR crews soon arrived at the mobile home to assist with extinguishing the blaze.
While combating the fire, MCFR crews encountered multiple hazards that included exploding ammunition and downed power lines.
Firefighters managed to extinguish the flames by around 3:35 a.m. While searching the interior of the home, they discovered that two dogs and multiple reptiles had perished in the fire.
There were no injuries reported to firefighters or civilians.
Due to the fire, the homeowners have been displaced, and the American Red Cross arrived on scene to assist them.
MCFR stated that an investigation is currently underway to determine the cause and origin of the fire.