A Florida man says he owes his life to his roommates after they woke him while a fast-moving fire tore through their home on New Year’s Eve, causing heavy damage and nearly spreading to a neighboring house.
Firefighters from the Fort Myers Fire Department were dispatched to a residence on Cranford Avenue near St. Charles Street in Fort Myers at around 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 31, according to Gulf Coast News.
Resident Tony Holmes was asleep inside the house when the fire broke out. He told local reporters that his roommates noticed the fire and rushed to wake him before conditions became deadly.
When Holmes made it outside, he said he was stunned by how quickly the fire had spread through the home.
“It was real bad,” Holmes said. “Fire and smoke everywhere.”
Firefighters arrived to find flames burning in the roof area of the house. Crews were able to contain the blaze before it jumped to a nearby home, something officials say could have escalated the situation significantly.
“It was blazing, but they caught it,” Holmes said. “They caught it just in time.”
According to the fire department, the damage to the roof has rendered the house unlivable for now. Battalion Chief Paul Dearmond said several residents may be displaced temporarily but have access to family members they can stay with.
“One of the bedrooms is completely destroyed,” Holmes said, adding that he’s unsure where he’ll go in the coming days as the group works through next steps.
Holmes credited both his roommates and firefighters for preventing a worse outcome.
“It was traveling pretty fast, but they got it just in time,” he said. “If it hadn’t been stopped, it could have jumped to the next house.”
No injuries were reported in the incident. Fire officials have not yet released the cause of the blaze, and an investigation is ongoing.
The Fort Myers Fire Department did not immediately provide additional details beyond the initial response.
