CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A family's home was destroyed Saturday by a fast-moving and intense fire.
An Eyewitness News crew could see flames and smoke still coming from the home in Steele Creek just after noon.
A neighbor on Pitty Pat Court said he heard someone screaming that a dog was inside.
Firefighters said the family's cat and dog died in the fire.
“I opened the back door, but that's as far as I could go. I couldn't get the dog because there was too much black smoke, so I backed out," said neighbor Samuel Garrett.
The smoke and flames were so intense, firefighters couldn't even go inside the house until they attacked the fire from the outside.
It took them 30 minutes to get the fire under control. The American Red Cross is helping the family of three who lived there.