6 kids, 2 adults escape house fire in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Red Cross is helping a Jacksonville family after a fire tore through their home Saturday morning.

Fire trucks filled Mitchell Street and Moncrief before 6 a.m. A neighbor said she had just fallen asleep when her husband woke her up.

“He was like, ‘Baby the house is on fire.’ I was like, ‘What house is on fire?’” Joneva Peterson said. “He said, ‘Across the street.’ So I came to the door and I was like, ‘There’s babies in there, there’s babies in there!’”

JFRD said a couple was cooking breakfast in the kitchen when the fire started on the stove. It quickly spread to other rooms – feet from where six kids were sleeping.

A fire chief told Action News Jax the kids made it out safely. The parents got out too, but the dad was hurt.

Action News Jax saw his arm in a bandage. JFRD said he was burned trying to put out the flames.

“I’m just glad to know those babies were out of there OK, everybody made it out of there OK,” Peterson said.

Action News Jax was there as the family talked with Red Cross. The mom didn’t want to go on camera but told Action News Jax some of the kids were family members visiting from out of town.

​As they work out what’s next with their landlord, neighbors are trying to find a way to help.

“I’m sorry about the whole situation. I want everybody to know if we can pull together as a team, everything they lost it could be replaced,” Peterson said.

Both the mom and neighbors said they’re glad the kids weren’t hurt.

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