Hypoluxo fire destroys home, leaves disabled couple homeless

HYPOLUXO, Fla. -- A fire that tore through a mobile home in Hypoluxo on Saturday destroyed the structure and everything inside, leaving the residents homeless.

A day later, the couple, both of whom are disabled, face an uphill battle after losing the place where they rest their heads at night.

"It came out as a white mist and then it just, poof," Paul Allen said when remembering the fire that ripped through his home.

Allen still cannot believe they have lost nearly everything. The plates they ate off of sat in damaged cupboards, now stained black. The scissors and pens he used still remained in a canister, stuck together and melted. The most devastating damage for Paul is to the roof that once hung over his head and now is pierced with holes from when the fire ripped through his home.

"Just watching it burn and there is nothing you can do. I've never felt so helpless. But as long as my family was safe, that's what mattered," Allen said.

Allen is confined to a wheelchair and his wife, Carol, is stuck using crutches. Both managed to escape the flames and rescue their two dogs and four birds.

Their home though was ruled a complete loss. Allen said it was a rental and that he did not have insurance. And since he is on disability, getting back on his feet financially will be tough.

"For the first time in my life, I'm going to be homeless and that scares the hell out of me," Allen said, as he pushed aside his tears.

He said his van, scatter with their few remaining belongings, most likely will be where he and his wife will call home.

"Thank God I'm still alive, but I just don't know what we're going to do now because I don't know how you pick up from here," Carol Allen said.

Injured and just out of the hospital from a heart attack that happened a week ago, Allen said his disability check only stretches so far.

"It's so surreal but it's like a horror movie at the same time because you just don't know what's next," he said.

They will stay in a hotel room that the American Red Cross rented for them for a couple more days. 

A neighbor said that by then, they are hoping to have an account set up where people can donate and help.