JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two Jacksonville brothers are safe after narrowly escaping a fire in their home in the New Town neighborhood early Monday morning.
The brothers were asleep when a fire broke out and tore through the home that has been in their family for nearly 100 years.
The two brothers said they were sound asleep when they heard a popping noise that woke them up. Then they saw flames.
One of the brothers was forced to jump out of a window and another jumped out of the back of the home with just seconds to spare.
The fire was so intense that part of the mailbox at the home was melted away.
The brothers said even though they are devastated by the damage done to the home that was built in 1922, they told News4JAX they were just happy to make it out safely.
“My mother left me this house,” one brother said. “I have been through a lot of tribulation...so I am just glad that I made it out.”
The brothers said they believe the fire started with an electrical issue in the house and the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause. Investigators said they don’t believe the fire is suspicious.
The brothers are now getting help from the American Red Cross.
