Miami Gardens community rallying behind a retired teacher whose house was severely damaged by a large fire

A Miami Gardens community is rallying around a retired Miami-Dade Schools PE teacher after his house was engulfed by flames Friday afternoon. 

Edward Brown, 87, is the owner of the burned home, and he said that the fire started in the kitchen because he forgot to turn off the burner after frying fish. When the fire started, he had stepped outside to talk to his son on the phone. 

The man is beloved by his neighbors, calling him "the kindest man" they've ever met. Some neighbors were seen stopping by to check on him, and some of them even offered him a place to stay while he repairs his home. 

Before fire crews arrived, a neighbor tried to help put out the fire with a garden hose, but it was already too big to be extinguished.

Chopper 4 captured the huge billows of smoke coming out of his home located at NW 27th Court and 172nd Terrace, with flames billowing through a large hole in the roof. Multiple Miami-Dade Fire Rescue trucks are seen trying to contain the blaze.

According to MDFR, it is a 1-alarm fire, meaning it is contained to a small area inside the home and has currently not spread.

MDFR said no injuries have been reported.

Mr. Brown says that he had just paid off his home last year, and the property was not insured because of the high prices he was quoted.