SUNRISE, Fla. --
Fire ripped through a Sunrise home Friday morning, killing a toddler and his dog.
The child was identified as 3-year-old Aiden Bizier. Neighbors described him as having "bleach-blonde hair, blue eyes, playful, always having fun."
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The fire broke out around 11:15 a.m. at a home located at 11431 N.W. 35th St.
From Sky 10, flames could be seen shooting through the roof, which had partially collapsed.
"I came out of my house and I saw the flames coming up. That's when everyone came all at once," said friend and neighbor Gabby Santos.
Neighbors said the home went up fast. When firefighters arrived, they said the boy's mother was outside, screaming that she couldnt find her son. Despite the raging fire, crews suited up and ran inside.
"Before the first hose line was pulled, we had a crew take a search rope and begin searching because of the urgency of the situation," Sunrise Fire Department Division Chief Tom O'Connell told Local 10's Roger Lohse.
He said they scoured the living room and bedrooms but had to pull out because the roof started to cave in.
They later found the boy's body, next to the body of the family dog, inside the home's garage.
Friends of the boys mother were rocked by the news.
"Its going to be rough for the family to get over. I cant image going through anything like that," said neighbor April Mayo.
"Its probably going to tear her apart, I mean that was her first child," Santos said.
A man who identified himself as the childs father stood outside the scene for hours, begging police to let him see the boy one more time. They refused.
Investigators said the child lived in the house with his mother and grandmother. Its unclear how the fire started or how the boy was separated from his mother when it started.
Fire investigators told Local 10 that the garage suffered the most damage. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
