Hollywood house fire destroys home, triggers roof collapse; neighbors evacuated safely

A house near North 68th Avenue and Harding Street went up in flames early Tuesday morning, with dramatic video capturing intense fire and a roof collapse.

"At around 3:30 a.m., multiple 911 calls came in to the Broward 911 Center reporting a house fire at the location behind us," Fire Chief Jeff Levy said. "Fire crews quickly arrived on scene and encountered heavy flames coming from the roof, doors, and windows."

Due to the roof collapse, firefighters were forced to battle the blaze from above.

"There was a significant amount of storage inside, and with the roof collapse, firefighters could not safely enter the house," Chief Levy added.

Fortunately, no one was inside the home at the time. The homeowner arrived while crews battled the flames.

Neighbors alerted each other as the fire raged on their block.

"I was sleeping when I heard loud banging at the door—it was a neighbor. At first, we thought it was a crazy person, but then he started yelling, 'Fire! Fire!' I ran out the back door and saw the sky was orange," Steven Llerena said.

Daire Llevera said she grabbed only the essentials.

"I took my purse and documents—everything important. No clothes, nothing else. I got dressed quickly and ran out," she said.

Her husband and stepson worked to stop the fire from spreading to their own home.

"The fire wasn't that big yet, but then something exploded and it grew quickly. My dad and I tried to soak the backyard to keep our house from catching fire," Steven Llevera said.

Fire inspectors are now working to determine the cause of the blaze.