BAYTOWN, Texas – A father and a toddler escaped a house fire Friday in Baytown.
The fire broke out around 2:30 a.m. at a home in the 2200 block of Harris Street.
The homeowner, Joseph Deanda, said he and his son were sleeping on the couch when he heard something that sounded like a shot. After investigating the sound and finding nothing, he laid back down, he said.
"I heard a large shot. Within minutes the house was full of smoke," he said.
When the Highlands Fire Department arrived, large flames were jumping from the roof of the house, fire officials said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Deanda said he bought the house a few months ago and had been doing repairs. He had just moved his furniture in Thursday, and it was the first night he and his 18-month-old son had spent in the house, Denada said.
The fire left the roofing on the right side of the home burned and mangled. Where there was once a window is now a hole that you can see right through to the other side of the home.
The Harris County Fire Marshal is investigating.