Pregnant woman hospitalized after fire destroys home

CAVE CREEK, Ariz. (KSAZ) - Nearly 40 firefighters from four different departments spent several hours putting out a house fire in Cave Creek.

Cell phone video shot by neighbors captured the intense scene.

"I mean, you saw flames and it was just an inferno, an absolute inferno," Diane McDugal said.

Diane and Rick McDugal say their dog, Missy, woke her just before 1:30 a.m., and saw flames from their living room.

"The deputy was out here and told us we should get our dogs and birds and go," Rick McDugal said.

Firefighters say a woman, who is six-and-a-half-months pregnant, came home to find her front porch engulfed in flames and immediately called 9-1-1.

Maricopa County Sheriff's Office deputies showed up at the scene first.

"She had left the grill burning when she left the house," said Shawn Gilleland, with the Rural/Metro Fire Department. "When she came back, she found her front porch fully engulfed."

Deputies say they began chasing the woman's dogs because she was so excited about what was happening. She began hyperventilating and was transported to a hospital for her safety.

The first problem firefighters encountered when they arrived on the scene was no water, thanks to the remote area where the home lies.

"We had four tankers," Chief John Kratz said. "We continually shuttled them for the last six hours non-stop. We've probably thrown 50,000 gallons of water on this fire, so far."

Another problem; the metal roof collapsed, and according to Chief Katz, that just fueled the fire.

"They're on a tank just like we are," Rick McDugal said. "Water's a big problem."

The McDugals are relieved their neighbor made it out safely and are breathing a sigh of relief that the fire didn't spread because the situation could have been just as bad at their place with a lack of a water source.

Crews from Daisy Mountain, Cave Creek and the Phoenix Fire Department assisted in the fire. Investigators say the home is a total loss.

"Right now, we're working off a tanker truck, so right now our trucks are having to refill and pump water to the fire," Capt. Shawn Gilleland, of the Rural/Metro Fire Department, said.

The victim was taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure, but her home is considered a total loss.