Firefighters say a 14-year-old boy who was playing with a lighter started a fire that destroyed his family's home.
The boy lived with his grandmother, who was working at the time.
Everyone got out of the house safety. Firefighters rescued a 2-month-old puppy from inside, it's expected to be okay.
Cell phone video taken by FOX 10 morning producer Geoff Hillermann shows flames taking over the pergola of a home on Holly Street near 75th Avenue and McDowell.
From the air, you can see smoke billowing out of the roof.
"The whole house was on fire before the fire department got here," says Adrian Aguilar, the 14-year-old resident.
Aguilar says he was inside the house with his 21-year-old cousin when he looked out and saw flames around noon.
"So I ran next door over there and I was like help help help my house is on fire," he says.
Aguilar's grandmother, who he lives with, was delivering Meals on Wheels when the fire department called her.
She found her birth certificate and mother's death records among the charred rubble. Nothing else was salvageable.
"I have only the clothes I have on me," says Maria Aguilar.
You can see the charred bicycle and microwave. Firefighters say this home is a complete loss.
The fire department says the fire started outside and got in the attic. Firefighters say 14-year-old Aguilar started the fire while playing with a lighter.
"I was playing with a lighter but I know I wasn't the one that started the fire because I was doing it over there in the dirt," he says. "One strand of grass caught fire but I just stepped on it."
The fire department says Aguilar has been referred to the juvenile fire setter program where he'll spend several Saturdays getting educated on fire safety.
Wednesday, May 22 2013 1:00 PM EDT2013-05-22 17:00:29 GMT
An emotional funeral service has been held for a Hofstra University student who was accidentally shot by police.
An emotional funeral service has been held for a Hofstra University student who was accidentally shot by police. Andrea Rebello's family followed the pastor Wednesday as he led her white cloth-draped coffin to the altar at St. Teresa of Avila Church in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.
Wednesday, May 22 2013 12:55 PM EDT2013-05-22 16:55:01 GMT
Jersey shore town is celebrating a milestone as it rebuilds from Superstorm Sandy. Belmar officials will reopen their 1.3-mile boardwalk that was destroyed by the October storm.
Jersey shore town is celebrating a milestone as it rebuilds from Superstorm Sandy. Belmar officials will reopen their 1.3-mile boardwalk that was destroyed by the October storm.
Wednesday, May 22 2013 12:27 PM EDT2013-05-22 16:27:26 GMT
Black and Hispanic men are more likely to be stopped in the Bronx and Brooklyn than other boroughs, according to an analysis of police street stop data released Wednesday by the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Black and Hispanic men are more likely to be stopped in the Bronx and Brooklyn than other boroughs, according to an analysis of police street stop data released Wednesday by the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Wednesday, May 22 2013 12:10 PM EDT2013-05-22 16:10:42 GMT
The NYPD arrested a suspect in the latest anti-gay attack in the city, said police.
The NYPD arrested a suspect in the latest anti-gay attack in the city, said police. The incident Monday night involved two men, who police say, had met at the Bowery Mission and went out drinking together in the East Village. Roman Gornell, 39, was arrested on Wednesday.
Wednesday, May 22 2013 8:23 AM EDT2013-05-22 12:23:21 GMT
Ex-congressman Anthony Weiner whose career imploded after raunchy tweets said in a YouTube video announcement that he's in the New York City mayoral race.
Ex-congressman Anthony Weiner whose career imploded after raunchy tweets said in a YouTube video announcement that he's in the New York City mayoral race. A poll released Wednesday placed Weiner in second place behind City Council Speaker Christine Quinn in a Democratic primary.
Wednesday, May 22 2013 8:10 AM EDT2013-05-22 12:10:21 GMT
Commuter rail service from Connecticut to New York City, along with Amtrak service between Boston and New York, was back on schedule Wednesday morning on one of the nation's oldest and most heavily traveled railways.
Commuter rail service from Connecticut to New York City, along with Amtrak service between Boston and New York, was back on schedule Wednesday morning on one of the nation's oldest and most heavily traveled railways.
Wednesday, May 22 2013 7:42 AM EDT2013-05-22 11:42:24 GMT
The National Weather Service is looking into whether a tornado touched down in a rural eastern New York county during a series of severe thunderstorms that rumbled across the upstate region.
The National Weather Service is looking into whether a tornado touched down in a rural eastern New York county during a series of severe thunderstorms that rumbled across the upstate region.
