JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A family of four was displaced Tuesday afternoon after a massive fire destroyed their home in the Taylor Field subdivision on Jacksonville’s Westside at around 1 p.m.
A teen girl was pulled from the fire at the home on Zain Michael Lane and was being treated for serious injuries.
GoFundMe: Support Saunders Family’s Post-Fire Recovery
A neighbor said the fire was concentrated in the garage. Raymond Garay said he tried to spring into action to save his neighbor’s home.
“I went out and saw my neighbor’s garage on fire so I took my hose and tried [to put the fire out] but it was already too much fire,” the neighbor said.
“We saw and heard the booms, the explosions from the garage,” another neighbor said.
One neighbor who called emergency crews said she also called the homeowner at work to break the unfortunate news.
“Their mom asked, ‘Can you get my girls out?’ I didn’t see anyone there, but I told firefighters there were people in the house. The two daughters were in the house,” the neighbor told News4JAX.
JFRD rescued the teen from the blaze. Crews worked for around five hours to put the fire out. The family lost everything, leaving them displaced.
View the raw video from Sky 4 below.
“They’re good people. They’re really good people for something like that to happen to them,” a neighbor said.
“They’re good neighbors. I hope they can get this up again,” Garay said.
Chelsea Lambert and her 15-year-old daughter Lylian Curtis, who does not live in the same community, heard about what happened and came to offer help to the displaced family.
“All I could think of was that there were children involved. I have children of my own and I couldn’t imagine what they’re going through, so we would like to donate some clothing,” Lambert said. “If you were in that situation, you would want someone to help you as well, so we need to come together to help this family that needs help.”
JFRD said the fire is being investigated by the Bureau of Fire and the Red Cross was called to assist the family. You can donate to the family’s GoFundMe here.