MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A house fire destroyed a home early Thursday in northwest Miami-Dade County, killing the family dog.
The home is located at 9395 Northwest Eighth Ave.
Sky 10 was over the scene just after 6 a.m. and saw flames coming from the roof and windows.
Nancy Cahrier, who lives in the home, said she woke up to a red glow and smelled smoke inside. She said she got her husband and teenage daughter out, but "lost everything inside."
The family said their small dog that they had for three years died inside.
"We had her for three years. She was little, so I knew she was asphyxiated, because I barely made it out," Cahrier said. "My throat is burning from it. We lost everything, our clothes, everything."
The family next door was also able to get out of their home next door, Cahrier said.
"I was trying to get out of the gate so that we could get out, away from the fire," Cahrier said. "I knocked on the window of the people next door to me so that they would all get out. I didn't want nobody else hurt, because I know they wouldn't have noticed it until it hit them."
The Cahrier family was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Authorities said nine people were affected by the fire at the duplex and are being assisted by the American Red Cross. Cahrier's home was destroyed in the fire, and a neighbor's unit was damaged by the smoke.
"My life just went up in smoke," Cahrier said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
A GoFundMe account was created to help the family.