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LONG BEACH — A fire Friday at a home on LaRosa Road gutted the residence, injured a firefighter and claimed the lives of the homeowners’ three dogs.
Fire Department Battalion Chief Scott Dubuisson said firefighter Tim Harrison suffered a first-degree burn to his neck while battling the blaze at 195 LaRosa around 11 a.m. Harrison was taken to a hospital for treatment of the injury, which Dubuisson said was believed to be minor.
Darrell Biggerstaff said he had been working on his computer and left home to run to the store.
“When I got back, I saw smoke coming out of the eaves,” Biggerstaff said. “I opened the front door to let them (the dogs) out, but they never came. The smoke was about to knock us down. I decided it was not worth risking our life,” to go inside the house.
A passerby, Clarence McKnight, had tried to help Biggerstaff.
Lost in the fire were Max, a 7-year-old Boston terrier, Zach a 6-year-old miniature Doberman pinscher and Baby, a year-old Rhodesian ridgeback.
“I had those dogs since they were puppies,” Biggerstaff said, fighting back tears.
His son arrived, and with the help of another friend, they buried the three dogs together in the back yard of the house where Bickerstaff had lived since 1974.
Fire officials called for help from the Gulfport Fire Department as flames went through the residence.
Dubuisson said one firefighter twisted his ankle but didn’t require medical treatment.
The cause of the fire is under investigation but is not believed to be suspicious.
“It’s just getting cooled down enough for us to go back in and start looking,” Dubuisson said later Friday.
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