20 years of memories reduced to ashes and a call for firefighters that Robert Fossas would never have imagined making. In addition to his house, three others suffered almost irreparable damage after the fire that broke out on Monday in the residential complex where he lives in the city of Sunrise.
“It’s very sad what happened here, I don’t know how to explain it. The walls are black. There is nothing, everything has burned down, on the ground,” says Fossas.
Three families are now displaced and a fourth resident without electricity. The reason, according to Bobbi Mishel, president of the Association
“It was an electrical cable that was damaged in the building, it shorted and caught fire,” he added.
“I saw the whole building full of flames and smoke coming out the window, they were breaking the windows,” Fossas said.
The preliminary investigation indicates that the fire started in a unit. Then the flames spread to a second two-storey house where a woman lives with three children.
Juliet Assam, whose house is a total loss, says: “I ran to the second floor and opened the door to my bedroom and when I saw the whole room was on fire.
Juliet Assam says she was working from home when the fire broke out, but by the time she found out most of her belongings had already been eaten by the flames. All that remained was to save her life and that of her son. Her neighbor Robert failed to save his pets in time.
“He had five cats, three of which were found dead inside,” says Fossas.
Now, after decades of living in the house with his wife, he will have to start from scratch, and for now he will go live with his parents, waiting for help from the community.
“Insurance will pay for some things, but I don’t think they will pay for everything, just a little. Anything that can help me, I need help,” says Fossas.
Two other families are staying in a hotel using their savings, as insurance does not cover them. They ask for help from the community and have created several online support sites where you can donate.