ARCADIA, Fla. — A deadly house fire in Arcadia took the lives of a mother and 14-year-old early Friday morning.
According to DeSoto County Fire Rescue, neighbors saw flames coming through the roof around 2:30 a.m.
The same neighbors told firefighters people were inside. A fire official told Fox 4 when crews went inside the home, they couldn't make it far and had to back out to fight the flames.
Shortly after, firefighters say the roof collapsed.
Once they were able to get the fire under control, that's when they say they were able to determined the mother and teen died.
The DeSoto County School District has told Fox 4 the teen went to a local middle school and provided the following statement:
It is with a great deal of sadness that I am informing you of the death of one of our DeSoto Middle School students last night, Wednesday, January 18. A student from our school died tragically in an area house fire. We are all deeply saddened by this loss. This tragic event has affected the entire school. A sudden loss like this can cause many strong feelings. It is good to talk to someone about these feelings. We have grief counselors on site to counsel students on what happened.
DeSoto County School District
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
