Gifford house fire displaces family, kills puppy

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A bluenose pit bull puppy died in a fire that destroyed a Gifford home belonging to a family of four Tuesday morning, Indian River County Fire Rescue said.

The blaze happened shortly before 11 a.m. in the 2700 block of 47th Place. Resident Ramone Morgan, 39, said he was at work when he received a call from his wife that the home they've lived in for six years was on fire.

"I rushed here and it was engulfed in flames," Morgan said as he watched firefighters continue to spray the charred remains of the house. No one in the family was injured.

Morgan owned two bluenose pit bulls, he said. The puppy, Sasha, was inside the house and died, he said. The other dog, Tiger, was in a doghouse in the backyard and not hurt.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.