UPDATE: 2:45 p.m.
Fox 4 has confirmed there's been a history of code enforcement complaints at the home.
Senior Reporter Emily Young looked into records after a statement made by Charlotte County Fire Marshall Scott Morris. He explained the challenges firefighters faced at the home.
“It appears that maybe the house was a hoarders house, or something similar to that, there was a lot of debris in and outside of the house," he said. "Also when you’re adding multiple people to the layer, trying to make sure you’re getting them out as well, it just adds to the stress of putting it out."
Neighbors describe the property as constantly filling with "junk."
“I’ve had to call code enforcement because they’ve just left trash everywhere," said Steven Copeland, who lives across the street.
When Young arrived at the scene, she saw the outside of the house to be in similar fashion, with personal items strewn about.
Young pulled the code enforcement records for the property and found that the property has had four abatements since 2019. The property also currently has a "Cease and Desist" in place, which allows code enforcement to inspect the property or clean it up whenever they choose.
The county got the order in 2022 and it would last five years. With the home destroyed, the county says it's working to file paperwork to demolish it.
However, it would not be done until the fire investigation is complete.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Two people are dead after a house fire in Port Charlotte, according to the fire marshal.
Crews told us that eight people were living in the home at 157 Barre Drive in Port Charlotte when it broke out, just before midnight. Their home is now completely destroyed.
Three animals also died in the fire, including two dogs and one cat.
It is unclear if everyone living there was family.
Multiple people in the home called emergency responders, the fire marshal said. Arriving firefighters then found one person dead at the scene. EMS then took four victims to the hospital, but one person died along the way. The gender and ages of these victims are still unclear, as of 6:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Red Cross is on the scene.
The cause of the fire is unclear. We are all working to get an estimate on the cost of the damage.
The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office also helped respond.
Fox 4 has a team at the scene currently working to learn more.
