ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County firefighters reported no injuries following a fire on Thursday that destroyed a home and may have involved a gas grill.
Photos shared by Orange County Fire Rescue show the aftermath of what firefighters saw earlier that day, reporting heavy flames through the roof upon their arrival around 2 p.m. to the home in the 7200 block of Lake Marsha Drive.
Crews managed to quickly get water on the fire, the department said on social media, reporting a good takedown.
The fire is believed to have started on the home’s patio and potentially involved a gas grill, the post states.
News 6 has since learned that firefighters rescued two dogs from the burning home.
Donna Westfall, a Dr. Phillips resident, said she was was there when it happened.
“It was a grey smoke. After that explosion, it turned black, and it showed flames right next to the chimney right there,” she told News 6.
While officials said there were no injuries, it turned out the house was a considered a loss.
Westfall, who lives near the home, said the Tate family has lived there for years, and she and her daughter are helping them salvage what they can from the devastating fire.
“We cleaned them up and got the ashes off and stuff off of them,” Westfall said.
Meanwhile, Lt. Marcus Gombs from the Seminole County Fire Department provided some tips to avoid other potential grill fires in the future.
“You want to make sure that your grates over here are clean, and then you also want to make sure that if there’s any grease or anything like this, you want to get out of the way,” he said.
Gombs said the SCFD typically sees several fires around Memorial Day, as many times, people have left their gas on.
“When you’re done, you want to make sure that everything is turned off—not just the grill itself, but you turn it off at the bottom,” he said.
If you’re using coals, he says to be careful using lighter fluid, especially once the fire is going. If you’re planning to cook in your garage or on an enclosed porch, don’t.
“Under no circumstances do you want to be grilling or barbecuing indoors or in your garage. That’s just an easy way to catch your house on fire, and it’s very easily preventable,” he warned.
Lt. Gombs emphasized the importance of cleaning your grill — not just the grates, but underneath to ensure there is no grease there. He says it’s the number one reason many of these fires happen.
Lt. Gombs said it’s also important to check all your connections.
If you’re using Pam or cooking spray, don’t leave it by the grill. The same goes for oily rags.