Heater Sparks Fire in Port Salerno

(Port Salerno) An electrical fire sparked by a window heater leaves one man's home up in smoke.

The fire spread quickly through the upstaurs of this home on Bayview Street in Port Salerno.  The renter, Paul Moree, turned his A-C window unit to *heat* to get some relief from the cold.

This morning he woke up to smoke pouring out.

Moree says he unplugged the unit, and the smoke stopped, but it was too late.

Within minutes, he says the whole wall went up in flames, and he burned his feet getting out fast.

Just last night he says his landlord shut the water off.

 "I did what I could," said Paul Moree sitting in a lawn chair covered in soot, "'Bout 5 minutes the whole thing went up," "Too late?" we asked. 

"Wouldn't be too late if I'd had water and could have run down and gotten the hose."

Moree refused medical treatment and help from the Red Cross.  Moree said he's been using the heat on the window unit for the last 2 weeks with no problems.

The fire department says when cold weather strikes, electrical fires involving space heaters like this one are common. Firefighters say make sure you check for lint in the unit before turning on the heat. The South Stuart fire flared back up hours later and was again put out by Martin County Fire Rescue.

Firefighters say this cold night will be a busy night.