Families are without a home following a late Saturday night fire at the Paradise Marina.
Investigators continue to search for answers on the cause of four boats that caught fire.
Witnesses say they heard fire crackling which prompted them to call the North Fort Myers Fire Control District, who rescued one woman from the marina waters.
"I head popping, like fireworks," said David Miller.
Miller lives on a boat across from where the vessels went up in smoke. He says he saw the fire skip from boat to boat catching each ablaze.
Brittany Shore also lives on a boat in the marina. She says propane tanks on the boats also caught fire.
"It was shooting up sideways and to the left," Shore recalled. "There were bright blue flames. It was going pretty strong and caught the other boat on fire almost instantly."
Authorities say one person was taken to the hospital for burns.
Fighting the fire wasn't easy as NFMCD firefighters doused the boats for more than an hour and cutting down flames in shifts as some needed to take turns breathing fresh oxygen.
Some witnesses told us there were animals on the boats – some of which didn't make it out. They also say they saw one woman jumped from her boat to another and then into the water for safety.
Another woman stood by the charred boats through the smoke, weeping for people she says she knows who live on the boats.
"I am so sad, that these people that I know and love have lost their vessels," she said.
"These are our homes," said another woman. "We live on these boats!"
The time it took one couple to lose everything "literally was two minutes," said Jay Earlywine.
"The canvas and Eisenglass windows caught then the vinyl ceiling caught, and it just was a flame in a minute."
With his wife, Penny, trapped on board, Jay tried putting out the fire with an extinguisher, but it was no use.
"My wife jumped into the water over the stern. She couldn't go back inside -- her pet [cat] was aboard. We got a couple burns, but that's not a big deal really compared to starting your whole life over, so I don't know what we're going to do."
Penny was hospitalized for burns on her arm but has since left. The boat next to the Earlywines' caught fire first. Witnesses say a man and his three children were on board but made it off safely.
Neighbors told us they knew when the sun rose Sunday morning what they saw would be worse.
"And it was when you look at it, really breaks your heart that there are so many people that have everything on their boat," said fellow boat owner Judy Starr.
Others opened up their boats to those affected.
"You can't replace the little pets that were lost, but we do know that life goes on, and we will persevere and continue," Starr said.
Investigators continue to search for answers on the cause of four boats that caught fire.
Witnesses say they heard fire crackling which prompted them to call the North Fort Myers Fire Control District, who rescued one woman from the marina waters.
"I head popping, like fireworks," said David Miller.
Miller lives on a boat across from where the vessels went up in smoke. He says he saw the fire skip from boat to boat catching each ablaze.
Brittany Shore also lives on a boat in the marina. She says propane tanks on the boats also caught fire.
"It was shooting up sideways and to the left," Shore recalled. "There were bright blue flames. It was going pretty strong and caught the other boat on fire almost instantly."
Authorities say one person was taken to the hospital for burns.
Fighting the fire wasn't easy as NFMCD firefighters doused the boats for more than an hour and cutting down flames in shifts as some needed to take turns breathing fresh oxygen.
Some witnesses told us there were animals on the boats – some of which didn't make it out. They also say they saw one woman jumped from her boat to another and then into the water for safety.
Another woman stood by the charred boats through the smoke, weeping for people she says she knows who live on the boats.
"I am so sad, that these people that I know and love have lost their vessels," she said.
"These are our homes," said another woman. "We live on these boats!"
The time it took one couple to lose everything "literally was two minutes," said Jay Earlywine.
"The canvas and Eisenglass windows caught then the vinyl ceiling caught, and it just was a flame in a minute."
With his wife, Penny, trapped on board, Jay tried putting out the fire with an extinguisher, but it was no use.
"My wife jumped into the water over the stern. She couldn't go back inside -- her pet [cat] was aboard. We got a couple burns, but that's not a big deal really compared to starting your whole life over, so I don't know what we're going to do."
Penny was hospitalized for burns on her arm but has since left. The boat next to the Earlywines' caught fire first. Witnesses say a man and his three children were on board but made it off safely.
Neighbors told us they knew when the sun rose Sunday morning what they saw would be worse.
"And it was when you look at it, really breaks your heart that there are so many people that have everything on their boat," said fellow boat owner Judy Starr.
Others opened up their boats to those affected.
"You can't replace the little pets that were lost, but we do know that life goes on, and we will persevere and continue," Starr said.
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