Man loses South Florida home to fire 1 year after moving in

Paramedics helped care for Eloy Cepedo after his Westchester house caught on fire late Saturday night into Sunday morning, one year after moving in, he said. 

"Just finished remodeling," Cepedo said.

Firefighters were called to the home on SW 97th Ct. around midnight, Cepedo said.  

He said he was in another room when he saw the fire start in the main bedroom. The smoke was suffocating, Cepedo said, but he got his dog out in time. 

"I couldn't breathe. I actually couldn't find the front door," Cepedo said.

Now he's doing walkthroughs to see what wasn't destroyed. He said the main bedroom and the roof are probably a loss. 

"My clothing was here. Everything went down," Cepedo said.

Cepedo said that most of his clothes were destroyed in the fire, but some things actually made it. Including his discharge certificate from the Navy and a Certificate of Appreciation from former President Richard Nixon.

"You cannot replace this," Cepedo said.

Firefighters managed to keep the fire from spreading to other homes. Cepedo is still assessing the damage. Fire rescue is investigating the cause of the fire.