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Police Confirm Father, 11-Year-Old Daughter Died In Fire

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FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - A makeshift memorial has formed at the door step of mobile home where a father and his 11-year-old daughter perished in a fire.

Fatal Fire
Undated photo shows victims of a fatal fire in Broward. (Courtesy: CBS4 News Viewer)

The fire erupted around 3 a.m. in the rear of the home at 1361 SW 44th Terrace, just off of State Road 441 south of Davie.

Neighbors said they smelled the smoke and went outside to see what was going on.

"My mom woke up and she was smelling smoke and we thought it was the air conditioning. So she opened up some windows to get some air. She checked outside...there was smoke coming from the house," said neighbor Aisha Oliveres. "She knocked, it was minor at first but quickly, in a few minutes, it started spreading."

"It's scary as hell," she added. "I don't want this experience to ever happen again. It is horrifying."

"The flames were so high, we knock on the door so hard but nobody answer," said another neighbor, "We thought nobody was there."

Friends said a couple, Armondo Hernande and his wife Lidia Esther, lived in the home with their 11-year old daughter Analida.

The Broward Sheriff's Office confirmed on Thursday that it was Hernande and his daughter that perished in the blaze.

Authorities said a third person, an adult, was found safe and sound. They have not released the name of the third person.

Friends of the girl said she was an honor student at her school.

"It's kind of sad. It's not something you expect around here," said neighbor Kenneth Colon who is 12-years-old.

He lives down the street and he goes to the same school as Analida. He says she was in school Tuesday and he watched her walk home in the afternoon.

"She was a nice girl. She talked on the bus, talked to her friends. She really didn't get in trouble," said Colon.

At this time, investigators are not releasing any additional information about the fire - no cause, no potential explanation - as neighbors try to make sense of this tragedy.

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