Flames destroyed a home in Wilton Manors Saturday, leaving a family of three homeless and killing their pet dog and bird.
Patrick Cooney, 57, his wife and their 17-year-old son left their home in the 650 block of Northwest 21st Street to go to dinner just minutes before the fire started in the laundry room area about 5:30 p.m.
The flames spread quickly through the house, scorching the attic and spreading along the roof. Firefighters got about five feet inside the house, but were stopped in their tracks by belongings piled to the ceiling, which Cooney had just taken out of storage, said Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief Stephen McInerny.
A group of 35 firefighters took almost two hours get the blaze under control.
A lawn mower and propane tanks caused several explosions at the house.
''There was just too much fire,'' McInerny said.
One firefighter was taken to Holy Cross Hospital after he complained of nausea and weakness. A second firefighter was bitten by the family's black Labrador, but he was not badly hurt.
The dog ran off after the incident, and was later found dead in the house, along with the bird.
The Cooneys came home Saturday evening to find it, and all their possessions, destroyed.
''It's remarkable to think we lived here 21 years and we've lost everything we had,'' said Patrick Cooney. ''Thank God we were not hurt.''
Cooney said someone put clothes in the dryer just before the family left the house. He thought the dryer may have played a role in the fire.
McInerny said the cause of the fire had not been determined, but that investigators are ''looking at the possibility that the fire may have started in the dryer.''
The house suffered about $200,000 in damages, McInerny said. The family was receiving assistance from the Red Cross.
