A father died in a fire on North Lee Avenue early Monday morning, according to the Orlando Fire Department.
- Fire kills Orlando man; son escapes
- Name, age of person not released
- Cause of fire still being determined
Nineteen units of the fire department responded to 111 North Lee Ave. at 7:41 a.m., where they found the house "fully involved with flames and smoke," OFD said in a news release.
A man pulled from the home was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he died, firefighters said. Another man who escaped on his own was expected to be OK.
Fire officials at the scene said man pulled out of the home was the father of the man who escaped.
Neighbors described the victim as a kind and caring part of their community.
“He was my friend he was like neighborhood watch. He sat when I worked and watched my house and made sure everything was okay. A couple times my water pipe broke and he turned it off and fixed it,” neighbor Kim Holden said.
“That was my friend, and we used to sit up under that tree with a lot of people and tell stories and jokes. We’re going to miss that,” Holden said.
Firefighters said there was "a significant amount of combustible material inside the home" and metal bars on the windows.
"At one point, crews had to reset the fire and put even more water on it to try to slow it down and get back in and continue the search, which delayed getting to the victim," said Walter Lewis of the Orlando Fire Department.
Firefighters underscored exercising caution when using heating appliances, such as space heaters and fireplaces, and the importance of having working smoke alarms.
The Orlando Fire Department will be going around door to door in the Lee Avenue neighborhood Tuesday installing smoke detectors for free.
The cause of the fire is still undetermined, and the investigation is ongoing, OFD said.