ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — Two St. Lucie County families need to find a new place to live after raging flames destroyed their home overnight Wednesday.
According to Joe Cox, fire investigator for the St. Lucie County Fire District, a caller reported a brush fire around 3:22 a.m. at a home on Glades Cut off C24 Canal.
When crews arrived on scene, they found a home fully engulfed in flames.
Two out of the six people living there, a father and baby, escaped from a storm-shuttered window. Cox said the father was taken to the hospital with burns to his nose and face, and a child suffered smoke inhalation.
All four adults and two children who lived in the home were rescued, and the Red Cross is now assisting them with housing and other needs.
Cox said the wood frame home was built in the 1920s using a heavily flammable wood and was being rented by two families.
"The two families that lived in the house lost everything," Cox said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but it is believed to have started in the kitchen.
In the event you have storm shutters on your home, first responders urge residents to have an exit plan in case there's an emergency.
"Make sure you have a fire plan, a smoke detector, and an escape," Cox said.