OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – One man was killed and another was injured early Tuesday when flames destroyed a home in Osceola County, officials said.
The fire broke out around 12:50 a.m. on Hidden Springs Circle, just south of Osceola Parkway, in Buena Ventura Lakes, according to fire officials.
[TRENDING: Become a News 6 Insider]
The state fire marshal’s office said two adults were sleeping inside the home when the fire started in the kitchen.
A man in the back bedroom suffered smoke inhalation but was able to escape the blaze, officials said.
The man who died was found on a couch near the front of the home, according to fire officials.
“I opened the door and my neighbor was outside. He said, ‘The house behind yours is on fire. I just want you to keep an eye out,’” said Riesa Pascal, who lives behind the house that caught fire. “I ran outside and the smoke -- just the flames were going up, and I saw embers coming over my house and I was shaking and terrified.”
[STORY CONTINUES BELOW]
She said the fire was very intense.
“The flames were just as high as my house. I live in a two-story house, this is a one-story,” Pascal said. “he smoke was just billowing up in the sky. You could feel the heat from where I was standing in my patio. It was just unreal.”
Pascal said her heart hurts for her neighbors.
“One minute, you’re sleeping peacefully in bed and the next your home is engulfed in flames. I feel so terrible for them, like, (I’m) almost in tears just thinking about what they’ve lost right here.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
BREAKING: An investigation is underway after a deadly house fire in Osceola County.
— Mark Lehman (@MarkLehman6) May 16, 2023
One man died near the front of the home. Another was taken to the hospital with smoke inhalation.
The State Fire Marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the fire on Hidden Springs Cir. pic.twitter.com/01Q4GDtRtI