Family of seven displaced after open burn sets house on fire

A teenager's mistake during a home remodeling project caused a fire that consumed two homes on the family's property in Tampa Saturday.

Sarah Price said she decided to renovate her home on North 31st Street after adopting four relatives in foster care last year, including two grandchildren.

Saturday afternoon her 18-year-old son, Xavier, was trying to help out and decided to burn some old wood that he pulled out of the house. He set the fire between the main house and a cottage house in the backyard.

"I was just trying to help and everything just went into flames," Xavier told FOX 13.

Xavier walked away for a moment to use a bathroom. During that time, the fire spread in both directions, consuming both structures.

"Now we're going to have to I guess rebuild from the ground up because it's gone," said Sarah Price.

Sarah said she bought the house in 2005 because she needed to find a place big enough for her and her 13 children.

"A lot of good memories," she said. "I bought it because it was big enough for me and my family. It had the cottage house in the back. It was five bedrooms in the front house. But it needed some work from the time I bought it."

Xavier said firefighters told him the flames spread so quickly because it was so dry and windy.

His mother knows her son feels terrible. She's just relieved no one was hurt.

"I'm very thankful that no one got hurt. Very thankful. And I know he's kind of sad, but it's okay," she said. "We'll build it again. I'm not going anywhere."

The family said they do have a place to stay while they figure out how to rebuild the home.