ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — A mother and daughter are lucky to be alive after they got trapped in the backyard of a St. Petersburg home due to a fire overnight.
St. Petersburg Fire Rescue responded to the two-story home on Bayside Drive after receiving several 911 calls regarding two individuals trapped in the backyard.
“I came out the front and it was just pure shock, pure shock, really terrifying,” said neighbor, Amanda Riker.
VIDEO: Jeep slams into parked truck at Bradenton bar, driver walks inside without notifying owner The entire neighborhood along Bayside Drive was stunned to see a home with flames bursting out from every corner.
“I’ve never seen a fire that large in my life, in real life, it’s so weird when it’s not the movies and it’s real life,” Riker said.
Crews said the mom and daughter couldn’t escape due to a locked gate — the keys for the gate were inside the burning home — the wood frame around the home, the heat, and falling embers preventing the pair from accessing the gate.
Thankfully, firefighters rescued the two through an alley.
Neighbors like Amanda Riker said they were all concerned about their neighbors.
“We were all worried at first when we didn’t see the mother and the daughter. They’re safe though, but there was a lag, a delay, so we were all huddled together just really concerned,” Riker said. “Big overwhelming group relief when we saw them come around the corner.”
Fire officials said their priority was getting everyone out, protecting the exposed houses on each side, and then attacking the fire.
“The main structure was under some renovations,” said District Chief Brett Ciskoski. “They were staying in a little small cottage that was in the backyard, about 15 feet from the main structure.
“Our entire team worked tirelessly, this was an intense fire that took a long time to get under control, based on the type of occupancy, the size of the structure, it’s a very big house, and some other challenges that we had.”
Nobody ever expects this to happen to them, but if it ever does, the Chief said you need a family safety plan.
“Have two ways out, if your primary access out of your house is blocked by fire and smoke, to have a secondary way out of the house. Then, talk about that with everyone in your family,” Chief Ciskoski said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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