A son is in mourning after his father was killed in a house fire in Miami-Dade's Richmond West neighborhood early Tuesday morning.
The fire was reported around 3:30 a.m. at a home in the 15800 block of Southwest 143rd Court.
According to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief J.T. Waters, firefighters who responded found heavy fire and smoke in the garage, which was used as an efficiency.
Anthony Pirraglia said his father, 69-year-old Kenneth Mark Pirraglia, died in the fire. He said his father was asleep in the efficiency they were renting together.
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Anthony Pirraglia told NBC6 he had just talked to his dad around 8:30 p.m. Monday and said he was in “good spirits.” He said he was working security overnight at a Lamborghini dealership when he got a call around 4:45 a.m. asking him to leave work and go to the home.
“It's the worst feeling in the world, losing my father. I still don't know what happened. I was working and they called me to say that my father had died. We had been renting the efficiency for five years and we lived together… he was a great father, my hero," said Anthony Pirraglia.
Kenneth Pirraglia leaves behind two sons and two grandchildren.
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The father and son had been living together for five years. Anthony Pirraglia was his father's caretaker and according to him, his father had torn his anterior cruciate ligament seven months ago and had been struggling since.
"God works in mysterious ways," he said. "I'm glad we got to spend the last three days together."
Anthony Pirraglia said he doesn't have a place to live. The Red Cross responded to assist.
He said his mother passed away ten years ago from ovarian cancer, and his parents had been married for 37 years.
"Someone passing noticed the smoke, realized there was a fire and notified everyone about what was going on. Thank God we were able to get out," said a neighbor. " I wouldn't be able to tell you how it started."
Investigations are still active and the cause of the fire hasn't been released yet.
This is a developing story, check back with NBC6 for updates.
