Latest news with #FortLauderdaleFireRescue
3 days ago
- General
Family reunited with beloved dog after 6 years apart
A Florida family was reunited with their beloved dog after six years apart this week and said the whole experience has been "a dream come true." Lisa Nicholson, her husband, and two of her children traveled over 200 miles from St. Cloud, Florida, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to reunite with their beloved German shepherd Bella again. "Bella was microchipped. And so anybody out there that does not believe that they work, they truly, truly work," Nicholson told ABC News. "That was how [the police] were able to locate us, through the microchip, because they had all of our information." Bella was picked up by Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue firefighters on Aug. 5. Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue public information officer Frank Guzman told ABC News that first responders received a 911 call Tuesday about a "loose dog who had been roaming around [and] ended up in a canal and couldn't get out." "Our firefighters from Engine 47 arrived on scene and made contact with the dog. She was very docile and obviously exhausted," Guzman said. After firefighters brought Bella back to the firehouse, Guzman said Fort Lauderdale police determined the dog had a microchip and had been adopted out of Broward County Animal Care in 2018. Police then worked to track down the family, he said, and eventually located Nicholson, a mom of six. Nicholson told ABC News she and her family had to give Bella to a friend months after she was adopted, after a house fire forced them to move. "We lost everything. We lost our clothes. We lost everything that the house had inside of it," Nicholson said. "And so, we had to live in a hotel for a period of three months, and during that time, that's when we had to decide where Bella was going to go, and so we decided to let Bella go with a friend." Nicholson said after a while, they learned the friend -- whom she said they considered a family member -- had given Bella away, and they lost contact with Bella altogether. But earlier this week, Nicholson said her 18-year-old daughter Liberty told her she had a dream about Bella, and then she received a phone call from the Fort Lauderdale Police about Bella. "I just said, 'This has got to be God here,' because … my daughter has a dream, and then all of a sudden the dog appears after about six years? Like, it's a dream come true," said Nicholson. Now, Nicholson said she's hoping to give "sweet" Bella the world. "I feel like she's been through so much and I feel like this is like a second chance at life," said Nicholson. "She'll be treated just like us. When we get steak, she's going to get steak. When we get a new shirt, Bella is getting a new outfit." She added, "I want people to understand that when people are able to get their dogs back [after] any situation, don't think bad of them, because we suffered too. We were heartbroken too, but now our hearts have been mended."
Miami Herald
27-06-2025
- Miami Herald
Fire rips through another yacht in Fort Lauderdale. No injuries reported
A 47-foot yacht was destroyed in a Friday morning fire in Fort Lauderdale near the Lauderdale Yacht Club, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said. Fire crews received several 911 calls just before 7 a.m. reporting the blaze. Units arrived on scene within six minutes to find the vessel fully engulfed near the 1100 block of Cordova Road.. Firefighters used water and foam to suppress the fire. It took just over 20 minutes to bring the flames under control, but not before the yacht had extensive damage. Authorities say no one was believed to be on board at the time and no injuries have been reported. A fire investigator is on scene to determine what caused the fire. This is the latest in a series of recent boat fires and explosions in South Florida. Earlier this month, six boats went up in flames at a Sunny Isles dock. READ MORE: Boat engulfed in flames ignites several vessels at Sunny Isles dock: fire rescue In May, two boats in Fort Lauderdale went up in flames, one of which was carrying 15 people on Memorial Day when a fireball shot out from inside the boat. READ MORE: Boats are bursting into flames in South Florida. How common is this? Eleven people were hospitalized and the boat's operator, 29-year-old Joshua Fifi, died days later at the hospital.
Ammon
18-06-2025
- Ammon
Father drowns while trying to save his two children
Ammon News - A father who was spending Father's Day with his two daughters in Florida, died after trying to save them from drowning, authorities said. On Sunday, June 15, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue received 911 calls around 7:20 p.m. local time reporting that there was a drowning at a Fort Lauderdale beach. Although the ocean rescue team went off duty at 7 p.m., officials rushed to the scene once they were aware of the situation. Antwon Wilson, 33, "went into the water after two of his children appeared to be in distress," a Fort Lauderdale police spokeswoman tells PEOPLE. His daughter was "struggling in the water," the spokeswoman says. Another man, Eslam Saad, also went into the ocean to help the children but became "overwhelmed" and was pulled underwater before he was able to self-rescue, CBS News Miami reports.
NDTV
17-06-2025
- General
- NDTV
Heroic Father Of Two Drowns Saving His Children On Father's Day In US
In a tragic incident, a father of two drowned on Father's Day (Jun 15) after rushing into the ocean to save his children in the US. The man, identified as Antwon Wilson, 33, of Lauderhill, was spending time with his children at a beach in Fort Lauderdale over the weekend when the incident took place. The Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue (FLFR) received 911 calls around 7:20 pm local time, reporting a drowning in the ocean near the B Ocean Resort. While the Ocean Rescue Lifeguards had left the duty posts for the day, the lieutenants rushed to the scene once they were aware of the situation. "They were able to turn their trucks around and be the first responders from our fire rescue department," Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Daniel Moran told WFLA. Mr Wilson went into the ocean after spotting his two children in distress. One of his daughters was struggling in the water, and he jumped quickly to protect her. "The father made it to the daughter and was able to keep her afloat until lifeguards were able to get in and pull the daughter out," Mr Moran said. Eslam Saad, one of the bystanders, responded to the situation as well and went into the ocean to help the children. "I didn't think about anything. I didn't even tell my wife I'm going in the water again. I just jumped into the water," Mr Saad told 7News Miami. "When I got close to her, I told her, 'Please, I know you are in panic. Please, do not do anything crazy, I will try my best to get you out," he said, adding that the rescue workers took over when he brought her closer to shore. Meanwhile, Mr Wilson did not resurface after going underwater. Authorities began searching for Wilson and found him a few minutes later underwater. He was taken to shore, where paramedics performed lifesaving measures. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Tributes pour in Friends, family members and colleagues took to social media to pay tribute to Mr Wilson, with many acknowledging the effect he had on them. "To my childhood friend-thank you for the laughter, the memories, and the pieces of my heart you carried with you. I don't understand why you had to go, but I trust that God always has the answer," wrote Andrew Toussaint, one of Mr Wilson's friends "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Antwon Wilson, a highly esteemed member of our team. Martha Taxes and Financial Services, together with Trust1 Solutions, extends sincerest condolences to his family," wrote one of his colleagues.
CBS News
11-06-2025
- CBS News
4 people, including 2 children, remain hospitalized weeks after Memorial Day boat explosion in Fort Lauderdale, doctors say
Four people, including two children, remained hospitalized, officials said, more than two weeks after a boat exploded near a popular Fort Lauderdale sandbar on Memorial Day. A survivor of the explosion, alongside a team of doctors with the Miami Burn Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, spoke publicly for the first time on Wednesday to provide updates on the four burn victims, consisting of two adults and two children. As of Wednesday morning, one child remains in serious condition while the other is stable. As for the adults, one of them remains in critical condition, doctors said. A fiery explosion that killed 1 person, sent nearly a dozen to the hospital Loved ones said the explosion was the result of a fluke accident. Around 5:45 p.m. on Memorial Day, a 39-foot-long Sea Ray boat exploded near 9th Street in Fort Lauderdale, where a sandbar draws boaters and beachgoers on holiday weekends. According to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, the boat was anchored during the explosion. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirmed that 15 people were on board at the time of the incident. A video of the explosion shows the moment the fire ignited, followed by people jumping into the water moments later. Ten people, including the two children, were taken to JMH's burn unit for treatment. One of the victims, 28-year-old Joshua Fifi, died after spending four days in the hospital while being treated for third-degree burns over 70% of his body. Authorities said the explosion likely stemmed from a gas leak or vapors that ignited during refueling, but the cause of the explosion remains under investigation.
