Officials said a fire that ripped through a Miami Gardens townhome was caused by an unattended 5-year-old with a lighter. NBC 6’s Keith Jones reports.
An adult and a child were able to escape a townhouse on fire in Miami Gardens Wednesday morning, officials said.
The fire was reported at the home at 21006 Northwest 39th Avenue, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said.
"My baby sister called me all hysterical," said Teresa Bankston. "Said the house is on fire and we lost everything."
The damage was so intense, JoAnne Bankston said seven people inside the home will be forced to stay elsewhere.
"They lost valuable things from their past and everything that got destroyed," JoAnne said.
Only two people were inside the home at the time of the fire, a grandmother and a five-year-old boy.
According to MIami-Dade Fire officials, the grandson was playing with a lighter and accidentally started the blaze.
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Still, Teresa said despite the property losses, what really mattered was what survived the fire.
"You can replace the stuff, but you can't replace life."
