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Family has seconds to escape before fire destroys 4 homes in West Cocoa

WEST COCOA, Fla. — A family is lucky to be alive after fire destroyed four mobile homes in Brevard County Wednesday.

Investigators said four people and a child made it out alive, but their dog is still missing.

Fire investigators are now digging through what's left of the homes to determine what started this fire.

Witnesses said the fire started inside an abandoned mobile home and then spread to three others.

Brevard County Fire Rescue said they found a wall of flames when they arrived.

Firefighters said only one of the three homes was occupied.

The others have been abandoned for a while, but neighbors said they do see people staying in those empty units.

There were four people and a child inside the occupied home when they noticed the fire.

Firefighters said when they arrived, the flames were already too intense for them to enter the home, so they had to attack it with water from the outside.

The family was able to save their cat when they escaped the home but not their dog.

Firefighters haven't been able to search through what's left of the home for the dog yet, but the family does not believe it survived.

One resident who was home when the fire started next door said she only had about 20 seconds to get everyone out before their home caught fire.

The Red Cross has been called to assist residents affected by the fire, officials said.

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