ORLANDO, Fla. – Firefighters and neighbors say a couple was able to escape an intense fire at their home thanks to working smoke detectors.
The fire started at around midnight on Sunday at a home on Hiawassee Overlook Drive.
Deputies tell Local 6 a man and a woman in their 60s were sleeping inside the home when the fire started.
Neighbors say when the fire alarm woke the couple, they saw flames coming from the attic and the roof.
"They were huge," said Donna Bush, a neighbor. "You could feel the flames from here. You could feel the heat from here."
Shortly after the couple escaped from the home, deputies say the home became engulfed.
"You have nightmares about this happening to you," said Bush. "I think they're OK. I just think they're really upset."
The woman who lived at the home needed an oxygen mask but wasn't taken to the hospital.
"I can't even imagine waking up with a fire alarm and your house is burning," said Bush.