'Just ran out the door': Single dad loses everything in Altamonte Springs apartment fire

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. - A single father is trying to figure out what to do after losing almost everything in an apartment fire near Ballard Street and Beverly Avenue. The fire claimed the life of an 11-year-old boy, and many other residents narrowly escaped. 

Uriah Frisby says he heard a bang Wednesday around 1:30 in the morning.

He opened the door and saw a wall of flames and smoke.

He grabbed his daughter and bolted out.

"I just picked her up and then I just ran out the door, through the smoke and fire and everything," said Frisby. "I just ran."

Body camera footage from the Altamonte Springs Police Department shows Frisby holding his 8-year-old daughter, Elliana Marie Maldonado Frisby, outside of the burning building.

"Is she okay," an officer asks on the body camera footage. "Get her over here, away from that smoke," the officer directs the father.

Looking on at the fire consuming the building, Frisby didn’t realize things were about to get even worse for him and his family. 

Frisby thought he had renters’ insurance, but only realized after the fire that his policy had been canceled. 

"That’s when I realized, ‘Okay, I lost everything,’" said Frisby. "That's when I realized that I don't know what to do."

There was one other thing the family was able to salvage: 

Their cat, Peppa. 

"It was just like a miracle to us," he said.

The family says they found her hiding underneath their couch after the fire died down.

"She's so cuddly, and she meows a lot," Elliana told FOX 35 about her pet. "So sweet."

The community has been incredibly giving, donating clothes, toys, toiletries, and money. But Frisby is having to rebuild from scratch. It’s a long road ahead.

But still, he says he’s thankful. 

"It was not easy processing this, but having friends and family members just come in and support me really made the difference."

Frisby says the Red Cross is helping him pay for a hotel through Monday, and his apartment managers are trying to find him somewhere else to stay.

But right now, he says he still feels like he’s in an unsure time, not knowing what will come next. 

Frisby asked FOX 35 to include a special mention of certain people who've helped him and his daughter after the fire, including Ashley Marie and her husband Chris; Abby, Mrs. Peacock, and Lauren Melendy from Lake Orienta Elementary School; and Mindy Lawson, Michelle Armstrong, Natalie Alexandra, Abby Dowd, and Nathalie Rivera who he met over Facebook.