OLDSMAR, Fla. — Investigators are working to determine the cause of a fire that destroyed a home in Oldsmar’s Forest Lakes neighborhood on Christmas Eve.

What You Need To Know

An Oldsmar home was destroyed by fire Christmas Eve 

Oldsmar Fire Rescue Chief Jason Schwabe said the two people who lived in the house weren’t injured

Neighbors said they heard popping sounds before noticing smoke

Investigators are still working to determine a cause

“I went out the back door, and you could see smoke and fire in the backyard,” said Jennifer Weiss, who lives a few houses down from the fire on Cypress Lake Ct.

Oldsmar Fire Rescue Chief Jason Schwabe said the call came in just after 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. He told Spectrum News that crews arrived to heavy smoke and flames coming through the roof.

Weiss said her husband was in their backyard when he heard popping sounds, then noticed black smoke rising from their neighbor’s home. That’s when he told her to call 911.

“They’re telling me to get the neighbors out. One neighbor has a brand new, newborn baby, so I’m yelling at them to get out of the house. The guy was — the owner — was just sitting,” said Weiss. “Smoke was billowing everywhere, out of his house, out of the backyard, flames in the backyard. It was pretty intense and scary.”

Schwabe said crews from Safety Harbor, Palm Harbor, East Lake and Clearwater also responded. They got the fire under control and stopped it from spreading to neighboring homes, but the home where it started saw major damage.

“Certainly feel for the family having to deal with this this time of year. It’s never an easy thing to go through. Just heightens it even more being around the holidays,” said Schwabe.

The homeowner didn’t want to talk with reporters. Jovanny Rivera said his aunt and uncle lived in the house and that his family was planning to celebrate Christmas Eve there with a backyard barbecue. While he said just about everything in the home was lost, he also felt blessed.

“I’m grateful that everybody’s not hurt. I’m grateful to have my family. I’m glad I didn’t lose anybody,” said Rivera.

“I know the owner. He’s pretty distraught,” said Weiss. “Neighbors seem to be OK, but I just want to make sure everybody’s good.”