Heater Believed To Have Sparked Coral Springs Apartment Fire

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CORAL SPRINGS (CBSMiami) - A heater may be to blame for an early morning fire at an apartment building in Coral Springs.

The started around 4 a.m. in the two-story building at 8011 NW 35th Court.

The four people who live in the unit where the fire started said they believe a heater they were using to stay warm may have started the fire.

"I went to put my heat on because it was cold, my kids were shivering and my kids had three jackets on, and it was too cold so I turned the heat on to get the chill out of the house for about an hour. When I went to turn it off, it wouldn't turn off. We smelled smoke so I woke up my boyfriend and he said there's smoke upstairs, so we got the kids out and I called 911. I opened up the door where the heater is and I saw the back wall glowing, it was orange. I could have got the fire extinguisher, but 911 wouldn't let me," said Kim Forsythe.

"I couldn't put the fire out, within minutes the whole thing just went up, we saw the flames rolling up the ceiling, coming out the windows, out the doors," she added.

Soon those flames spread throughout the entire building. More than a Coral Springs fire units were called into battle the blaze and assist in evacuating the building.

"I woke up and there was smoke filling the house," said 17-year-old Alisa Johnston.

By daybreak, she was staring at scorched marked walls as disbelief set in.

"I realized that everything was gone, I thought it was a dream," she said. "I started freaking out, just screaming that we lost everything, my mom cannot afford to replace it, I don't know what to do"

Thankfully, no injuries were reported.

Firefighters say they see an increase in fires when it gets cold due to people using their heaters to try and stay warm.