Owner Reports 100 Birds Dead, Missing After Fire

A passing driver alerted an Avon Park couple to a shed fire Tuesday morning in the rear of their North Torrington Road home, said Fire Chief Earl Gray, with the Highlands Lakes Volunteer Fire Department.

The fire call was received at about 4:23 a.m. Tuesday. About 14 firefighters from Highlands Lakes, Sun 'n Lake of Sebring and Avon Park Fire Department arrived by about 5:15 a.m. to find a shed totally involved and the house in danger of catching flames.

Several large bird cages near the shed were about 90 percent destroyed, he said.

The property owner Juan H. Lopez reportedly told firefighters that he and his wife had about 100 exotic birds, parakeets, cockatiels, the kind that talk. Only one bird's body was found, said Gray.

"Birds are thin-boned and can be totally consumed if they get into the fire," Gray said. "That fire was so hot and those birds were so small."

Gray said the nearest fire hydrant was about a quarter of a mile away, so the department's new E-1 International tanker truck which it received in January, helped. The 3,000 gallon tanker pumps 1,250 gallons of water per minute if needed.

The home also sustained heat damage with melted siding, broken windows, curtains, and a damaged door frame. Also, a lean-to type porch was damaged, he said.

The couple's furnishings reportedly were not damaged inside the house.

The state fire marshal is investigating the fire.