By TONY MARRERO
lmarrero@hernandotoday.com

Two separate fires destroyed two homes and left five people homeless within 24 hours Thursday.
At about 1 a.m., Hernando County Fire Rescue responded to a call at 430 Lincoln Ave. in Masaryktown.
The tiny, four-room home was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, said assistant Chief Frank DeFrancesco.
The woman who lived in the home, June Meadows-Weber, told fire officials she returned from a trip to the store to find the 480-square-foot house ablaze.
“She came back, opened the door and the fire flashed and took off burning,” DeFrancesco said. “When I arrived flames were 30 feet up in the air.”
Now, he said, “it’s a shell.”
DeFrancesco said a cigarette that apparently fell into the couch sparked the fire.
DeFrancesco said Meadows-Weber has two children and was renting the house.
The house is owned by Richard Weber of 351 Korbus Road in Masaryktown and has a market value of $44,600, according to the Hernando County Property Appraiser.
Richard Weber’s phone number is not listed; no one appeared to be home when a reporter visited Thursday afternoon.
Meadows-Weber and her children were staying with friends Thursday, DeFrancesco said.
Just before 2:30 p.m., Spring Hill Fire Rescue responded to a call at 1193 Farley Ave., just off Waterfall Drive.
Two sisters lived in the house; one was in her bedroom when the fire started, said District Chief Kevin Carroll.
“She heard glass cracking and the smoke detector, then left her room and the house was filled with smoke,” Carroll said. “She saw flames and ran out of the house.”
Fire crews responded within five minutes, Carroll said. The fire appeared to have started in the attic and was probably burning for some time before the woman noticed, he said.
“It had a good start on us long before we got there,” Carroll said.
Carroll confirmed the women’s last name is Fiore. He said the women’s parents live next door.
The home is owned by Tiffany Fiore, according to the property appraiser records. The phone number is listed to Crystal Fiore.
Louis and Irene Fiore live next door at 1211 Farley Ave., according to the property appraiser. They couldn’t be reached Thursday.
The cause of the blaze was still under investigation Thursday afternoon. The house, appraised at $154,697, is a total loss, Carroll said.
“The insurance company will gut this house, no doubt about it,” he said.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be contacted at 352-544-5286.

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