SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. (SNN) — At least two pets are dead after a fire destroyed a North Port home Monday.
The early morning house fire left two dogs dead and two cats still missing.
North Port Fire Rescue said it was an aggressive attack both inside and outside the home.
“It was pretty much a total loss. Again, the garage area was about the only area that didn’t have fire involvement. Just within moments of being on scene, the fire had already come through the roof of the home. A good portion of the roof collapsed on this home just moments after we arrived,” North Port Fire Rescue Public Information Officer Benny Fulkerson said.
Firefighters arrived at the house in the 3800 block of Ulman Avenue just after 2 a.m. to find the home engulfed in flames, making it difficult to control.
“Probably within about 30 minutes, they had some of the fire under control, but this was just so much fire that it just took a little while to really bring this one completely under control,” Fulkerson said.
According to NPFR, the owners of the home were not there at the time, however, their pets were.
“They did locate the dogs. They removed the dogs to the exterior. They did attempt to resuscitate them. Unfortunately, the dogs did not survive,” said Fulkerson. “We were then told that there were also two cats that were missing and we still have not located the cats.”
Fire rescue crews said the cause of the fire was accidental after a heat lamp came into contact with combustible materials.
No firefighters or civilians were injured, and no other homes were threatened.