Broward home fires ruin Christmas for families. Fort Lauderdale church burns Saturday

Omar Rodríguez Ortiz
·2 min read
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Christmas was ruined for several families — kids included — after a pair of trailer homes and two houses went up in flames Monday in Broward County, according to authorities.

Just before 8 a.m., a fire broke out in a single-family home, 1106 NW 11th Place, officials with Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said.

The blaze displaced the adults who lived in the house, Garrett Pingol, the agency’s executive officer, told the Herald in an email.

“Sadly, the last fire will impact a family’s Christmas, so crews took it upon themselves to replace many of the lost presents and provide Christmas meals,” the fire department said in a Facebook post.

Three children were also affected by the house fire, the Broward County Chapter of the American Red Cross said Monday in a news release. The Red Cross is giving financial assistance and mental health services to those affected, the agency said.

A fire engulfed a house, 1106 NW 11th Place, where two adults and three children were staying on Monday, Dec. 25, 2023.
A fire engulfed a house, 1106 NW 11th Place, where two adults and three children were staying on Monday, Dec. 25, 2023.

And it wasn’t the only blaze fire that crews doused Monday in Fort Lauderdale.

Shortly after midnight, a fire ignited in the Pan American Estates community, 150 NW 68th St., where two trailers were engulfed in flames, according to firefighters.

“Both mobile homes were vacant,” Pingol said.

A fire broke out at Mt. Bethel Baptist Church, 901 NW 11th Ave., in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023.
A fire broke out at Mt. Bethel Baptist Church, 901 NW 11th Ave., in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023.

On Monday afternoon, another house with three adults and two kids caught fire in Tamarac’s Woodland neighborhood, the Red Cross said.

Fort Lauderdale church burns to a crisp

On top of that, three additional fires — at a church, a house and an apartment — kept firefighters busy over the weekend.

Around 7 p.m. Saturday, a blaze burned the Mt. Bethel Baptist Church, 901 NW 11th Ave., in Fort Lauderdale to a crisp, a photo of the aftermath shows.

Earlier that day, at about 5 a.m., crews rushed to a Fort Lauderdale house, 1108 SE 9th St., to douse flames.

And in Margate, three people were affected by a home fire at the Lakewood on the Green complex on Sunday, the Red Cross said.

No one was taken to the hospital as a result of the Fort Lauderdale fires, which Pingol said are being investigated to determine what caused them. Details about the fires in Tamarac and Margate were not known right away.

“It has been a busy and challenging Christmas weekend for crews at Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue,” the agency said in a Facebook post.