Massive fire destroys Broward home early Tuesday morning, officials say

An investigation is underway in Hollywood after a fire tore through a home early Tuesday morning causing the roof to collapse and forced officials to deem the structure unsafe.

According to Hollywood Fire Rescue, the fire broke out just after 3:30 a.m. Tuesday in the area of Harding Street and North 68th Avenue.

"Multiple 911 calls were received by the Broward 911 Center for a house on fire," Hollywood Fire Chief Jeff Levy said. "Fire crews quickly arrived and encountered heavy fire coming from the roof and many of the doors and windows."

The intensity of the blaze caused the roof of the home to collapse, forcing firefighters to battle the blaze from above.

"The roof collapsed and there was a heavy storage component inside the house," Levy said. "So, based on the roof collapsing and the heavy amount of storage in the house, firefighters could not make entry," Levy said.

Neighbors alerted each other that there was a fire raging on the block.

"I was sleeping and I heard I heard thumping at the door," neighbor Steven Llevera said. "And it was one of our neighbors hitting the door really hard. We thought it was a crazy person, but we heard him screaming, 'Fire, fire, fire!'"

Llevers said he ran out the back door of the home and saw that the sky was orange.

"I took my purse and my documents because I heard the news," Daire Llevera said. "Everything that was important. I put clothes on and we ran away."

Daire Llevera said that her husband and stepson worked to prevent the fire from spreading to their home.

"The fire wasn't that big yet, but something exploded and it was getting bigger and bigger," Steven Llevera said. "Me and my dad were trying to wet the whole back yard to make sure our house didn't catch on fire."

No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.