WINTER PARK, Fla. – Fire destroyed an Orange County house Monday morning, sending flames shooting high into the air and smoke across Interstate 4.
The fire started around 5:30 a.m. at a two-story home on Riddle Drive near the intersection of Wymore Road and Fairbanks Avenue.
The renter of the home, who was the only person inside the house, told Local 6 News that he was awakened by a crackling sound and thought it was an animal. When he checked the house, he said he noticed a fire on his porch.
The fire quickly spread, but the man was able to safely escape.
Fire crews from Winter Park and Orange County ran thousands of feet of hose to the nearest hydrant to battle the blaze, and additional crews protected neighboring homes, fire officials said.
It took more than an hour to bring the fire under control, and Fairbanks Avenue and Wymore Road were closed for about four hours.
The renter said he thinks the fire started outside the home, but the cause of the blaze is not known.
Video from Local 6 helicopter Sky 6 showed thick smoke drifting over I-4 near the infamous Fairbanks Curve, but interstate traffic was not greatly affected.
An investigation is ongoing.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.