A family lost its home late Saturday when a fire destroyed the cabin cruiser they lived on and damaged four other boats at the Dunedin Marina.
Raymond and Jamie Fisher, both 54, lived aboard the 38-foot Carver Aft-Cabin with their 6- and 8-year-old children. They weren't home when the fire broke out around 7:15 p.m., but Raymond Fisher was injured when he went tried to reach back inside the boat to save a pet bird, tortoise and two lizards that were aboard.
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, Raymond Fisher tried to release the bird from its cage and suffered burns on one arm. He was taken by ambulance to Tampa General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The bird was not saved.
"It was incredible how fast it went up," witness Jessica West said. "Once it became engulfed in flames, it was about as tall as the palm trees, and there was just a lot of black smoke and the stench of burning fiberglass."
Jamie Fisher said the family is now homeless.
"I've seen people on the news say they've lost everything and, of course you feel, 'wow, those poor people,' " she said. "It's completely different when you're that person."
The Fishers said they had renewed the boat's insurance for 10 consecutive years, but this year, medical bills took priority. Now, they're relying on the generosity of friends, family and strangers to help them start over.
"I didn't know we made that many friends," Raymond Fisher said.
The extend of the damage to the four other boats wasn't immediately known.