[ACCIDENT] C7 Corvette Fire Destroys a South Florida Home

May 27, 2026

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[ACCIDENT] C7 Corvette Fire Destroys a South Florida Home

They lost their C7 Corvette and their home, but a Fort Lauderdale family escaped with their lives and four pets after a fire started below the car on the carport over the weekend.

The fire broke out just after 6:20 p.m. Sunday on Southwest 31st Avenue. Within seconds, flames shot up from the rear of the Corvette, turning the carport into a fireball. Cellphone video captured the intense heat and thick black smoke pouring from the structure as neighbors rushed in with garden hoses, trying desperately to slow the flames.

“They came and helped me, and I had a hose here, too, to try to put the flame out,” homeowner Annie Examat said, “and then, boom, the flame burst out even more.”

Examat was home with her mother and three children when the fire erupted. She said everyone immediately understood the urgency.

“Everybody was in the mode of, ‘We have to move fast,’” she said.

Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue crews arrived moments later, ordering the family out as the fire spread from the carport into the home. It took firefighters about 30 minutes to bring the blaze under control.

Inside, the damage was extensive—collapsed ceilings, charred walls, and heavy smoke throughout the home. The Corvette was reduced to a burned out shell. But amid the destruction, firefighters delivered one piece of good news: they rescued all of the family’s pets, including a dog, two rabbits, and a bearded dragon.

“That was a blessing,” Examat said. “Truly a blessing.”

By Monday morning, the home was boarded up, and construction crews were already on the roof beginning emergency repairs. The American Red Cross is assisting the family, who had lived in the home for seven years and are now staying in an Airbnb while they figure out their next steps.

“Just trying to bear with what happened and move forward,” Examat said. “That’s all I can do—keep my head up high.”

Fire investigators are still working to determine what caused the Corvette to ignite.