Flames erupt from house in Saint James City

Flames could be seen erupting from a house in Saint James City late Friday night and into early Saturday morning.

On scene, Fire Captain Scott Adema told Gulf Coast News Anchor Elyse Chengery that the call for help came in at 11:26 p.m., Friday. Fire crews from all of Pine Island responded.

The captain said a renter was working to move into the home that caught fire. The person renting the house was not home at the time of the fire. The captain added that a neighbor helped rescue a dog from the house.

[image id='928dee56-58f9-42fc-9315-0f82213a05a1' mediaId='75e0242e-4f2f-4455-9692-bc75a5291146' align='center' size='medium' share='true' caption='A witness shared this photo of the fire with Gulf Coast News late Friday night' expand='' crop='original'][/image]

The fire took about an hour to extinguish after firefighters got to the scene on Flamingo Drive. As of 1:45 a.m., teams were working to put out any remaining hot spots.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The warm weather outside forced firefighters to limit their time near the fire to avoid heat illness.

[image id='4389c984-c155-4223-b9c2-438433924496' mediaId='00e0af07-0d29-40e5-806c-3859986e24b3' align='center' size='medium' share='true' caption='Charred remains of the house' expand='' crop='original'][/image]

Two fire trucks and an ambulance remained at the scene as of 1:50 a.m., Saturday.

[image id='bd2760e1-6ca9-455b-93e3-a045cab1d053' mediaId='cf730283-409a-4fb6-9433-401b76176629' align='center' size='medium' share='true' caption='Gulf Coast News Anchor Elyse Chengery found fire crews blocking the street leading to the house affected ' expand='' crop='original'][/image]

This is a developing situation. Check back for updates.