Authorities in Florida are investigating a “suspicious” duplex fire that claimed a woman’s life early Friday.
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue said crews responded to the Deerfield Beach duplex at around 4:30 a.m. and were “faced with very, very heavy smoke and flames.”
“They made a rapid entry, a rapid knockdown to the fire, and found one victim, deceased in a back bedroom,” said Battalion Chief Michael Kane.
The fire was extinguished in 20 minutes and is “considered suspicious in nature,” Kane said.
The victim’s friends identified her as Paola Ribiero. A neighbor who lived across the street recalled waking up to an inferno.
“From my bedroom, you can see my front door and it has that little window on the top, and I could see flames to the sky. It was just orange,” she said.
People living on the other side of the duplex were displaced with the assistance of the Red Cross.
The Florida Fire Marshal is investigating the deadly fire.
