A car parked in a family’s driveway sparked a fire that damaged the house, displacing four residents Monday, according to the Port St. Lucie Police Department. No one was injured.
The fire started shortly after 9 a.m. April 29, at a home located in the 1900 block of SW Davis Street, in the Palm Trails neighborhood.
St. Lucie County Fire Rescue responded to the scene and extinguished the blaze. Investigators believe the fire started at the hood of the car and immediately spread to the house.
Residents in the two neighboring houses were evacuated for safety.
According to police, the homeowner, a 65-year-old woman, parked her car in the driveway after returning home from dropping her grandchild off at school and went inside the house. A few minutes later, she went back out to the car to get a phone charger and found her car in flames. The woman then ran inside the house, grabbed her dog and called 911.
Firefighters deemed the fire to be accidental in nature. A Fire Department Certified K-9 Accelerant Detection dog arrived on scene to sniff out accelerants but did not find any.
Authorities declared the home uninhabitable due to the extensive damage and smoke. Power was turned off at the home.
The American Red Cross has since responded to the homeowner, offering assistance to the four family members who lived there.