Fire Leaves Gulfport Family Homeless
The entire house is a loss but the family of five is safe, because of the quick response of a grandmother who awoke to the crackle of flames.
Gulfport Fire Chief James Marenkovic says the 911 call for help came in just before 1 a.m. Wednesday regarding a fire at 4711 Coronado Way. A husband and wife, in their 50s, their 26-year-old son and two grandchildren were inside. The woman was sleeping in a front bedroom just feet from the garage and heard the crackling of flames. She woke up, saw a glow coming from the garage and got the rest of the family out of the house safely, according to Marenkovic. Merenkovic says the fire started in the garage and spread to overhead trees. Because of the fire damage and heavy smoke, the entire house is a "total loss." He says flames reached as high as 20 feet. In all, Gulfport Fire received help from South Pasadena, Treasure Island and St. Pete …
Cherlene Willis
4:22 pm on Monday, December 3, 2012
Update from Chief James Marenkovic: "The origin of the fire was inside the garage, the cause has been left as undetermined." Also from the Chief: "Undetermined – Whenever the cause cannot be proven to an acceptable level of certainty, the proper classification is undetermined." more ›