BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – A South Florida man and his 11-year-old daughter have been identified as those killed early Wednesday in a mobile home fire in Broward County.
Broward Sheriff's Office Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said Armando Hernandez Valdez, 51, and Ana Hernandez Marrero, 11, were found dead in a back bedroom of their home.
He said firefighters were called to the home just before 3 a.m. at 1361 SW 44th Terrace in Broadview Park, an unincorporated community that borders Fort Lauderdale and Plantation.
A witness who called 911 told authorities that an air conditioning unit was sparking outside the home. He said neighbors had knocked on the door and windows of the home, but no one answered the door.
"My mom said she smelled smoke, so she came over to me and she woke me up she said, 'Irving, I think there's a fire,'" Irving Trujillo said. "I got up, went outside and that's when I saw the mobile home. It was up in flames, so immediately we just ran over. We started slamming on the door, trying to get them up."
Jachles said firefighters initially entered the home with a hose and began searching for the victims, but a flashover occurred and firefighters were forced to battle the flames from outside the home.
Jachles said it took about 30 minutes to extinguish the fire and find the victims.
He said firefighters did not hear any smoke alarms sounding from inside the home.
The Broward Sheriff Fire Marshal's Bureau and Florida Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigations are conducting the cause and origin investigation, and a death investigation is being led by the Broward Sheriff's Office Homicide Unit.
The Broward County Medical Examiner's Office performed autopsies on the victims and will determine the manner and cause of death.
A third person who lives at the home was not injured. It's unclear whether that person was inside the home when the fire started.