ORLANDO, Fla. — A screaming peacock awoke Jim Bronzo early Monday to flames that devoured his home and 41 animals at the Second Chance Wildlife Sanctuary in east Orange County.
“I looked out the window and saw the orange flames. … I had no clothes on. I had no phone,” he said. “I screamed out, ‘Somebody help me! Somebody please help me!’”
Orange County firefighters arrived about 1:30 a.m. as flames swallowed Bronzo’s two-story house on Baron Road, a 2.5-acre muddy plot about 19 miles east of downtown Orlando where he cares for 350 animals, including bearded dragons, snakes, llamas, goats, dogs and other orphaned animals.
He also is caretaker for Dalai the llama, a pack animal once owned by comedian Robin Williams. She survived the fire, though, escaping the compound after the fire and was running loose Monday.
A small raccoon named Camille who often sleeps on Bronzo’s bed with four dogs also was feared lost in the blaze but was found about eight hours later, fur singed but safe.
About a week ago, Bronzo appeared at an Orange County Commission meeting to complain about a neighbor who shoots guns a lot. Bronzo blames the noise for spooking the llamas, which jump a fence and roam the roadside.
Deputies cited Bronzo last month for the llamas on the lam.
The neighbor, Brian Ramphal, allowed firefighters Monday to fight the sanctuary blaze from his property.
“We feel terrible,” said Ramphal, whose wife, Sherry Saran, called 911.
She said they were awakened by their own barking dogs.
“We just heard the explosion next door,” she told a dispatcher in a recorded call. “Hurry up. I think it’s going to be really bad. … Hurry, hurry!”
Arriving first responders were concerned that heavy fire engines might sink and get stuck in the refuge’s muddy grounds, so they accepted the offer to stage the firefighting effort on Ramphal’s property.
Flames destroyed the home before it was snuffed out. No humans were hurt.
The Florida Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigations was trying to determine where and how the fire started.
Jennifer Foster, a friend of Bronzo, was among dozens of animal-rescue volunteers who showed up at the wildlife refuge shortly after sunrise to offer help.
“He’s got a lot of friends, he’ll be OK,” said Foster, holding a carrier with a now-homeless guinea pig. “But he’s going to need a lot of help.”
Friends created a GoFundMe page Monday for Bronzo, setting the goal at $200,000 to rebuild his house and the sanctuary.
It read: “Jim Bronzo has dedicated his life to saving animals. All animals, including those no one else will take … llamas, peacocks, pigs and so many more. Early this morning it was those very peacocks Jim saved that saved him … He is blessed to have gotten out alive while trying to save his dogs and cats. Dozens of animals perished. The entire structure is gone. Jim was unable to have insurance on the contents of the property and it is a total loss. 38+ years, his life’s work. Please help him and our community rebuild this amazing, nurturing and safe sanctuary!”
Sanctuary volunteers were stunned by what they saw as the sun rose.
“When I came this morning, I didn’t see a house,” said Josh Howe, who helps out at the refuge three days a week.
Laura Johnson of Florida Little Dog Rescue slogged through mud at the sanctuary to help Howe and Foster move guinea pigs and turtles into transport carriers.
“We’ve worked with Jim for years,” she said as a Muscovy duck pecked at her leg. “We’re going to help him out with the guinea pigs and turtles … for as long as he needs us.”
Volunteers and animal lovers, including Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan, rounded up the loose llamas, herding them back into the sanctuary.
Bronzo works as a nuisance wildlife trapper and established his sanctuary in 1985 as an alternative to euthanizing the animals he was called to remove.
Wildlife advocate Katrina Shadix, who narrowly lost an election in November for Seminole County commissioner to Jay Zembower, posted a Facebook message urging people to help Bronzo by donating to the wildlife sanctuary.
“Jim has dedicated his life to saving animals and he almost lost his life last night (Sunday night),” she said on the social media site. “I met and knew the animals who perished in the fire. … This is horrible.”
Among Bronzo’s most pressing needs are a cellphone, hay and food for the surviving animals along with a backhoe to clear away the fire debris and bury the dead animals.
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