JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- An elderly couple was taken to a local hospital in critical condition after their Mandarin home caught fire Tuesday morning.
The Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department was called to a home in the 12000 block of Toucan Drive after calls came in that there was smoke showing.
"Heavily engulfed in wafting smoke as flames reaching through the front garage and front door," Tom Francis with JFRD said.
Firefighters were able to save the homeowners, who were both taken to Baptist Medical Center with critical injuries.
Firefighters also saved the couple's two cats, whom neighbor Stepanie Gibbons took in. The family's dog was found dead in the backyard.
"We just took them in because it's what neighbors do. It's what you do for each other," she explained.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this time. The home has at least $100,000 worth of damage and could be a total loss.
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