A fire on Monday tore through a Miami apartment complex where there was also a shooting investigation.
Miami police said they were called to the Temple Court Apartments complex at 431 NW 3rd Street and found a man on the third floor who had been shot. He was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition.
According to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez calls about the fire came in around 8:15 a.m.
“We got several calls referencing a fire at this location. We arrived on the scene, we found that one person had been shot. That person was transported to JMH (Jackson Memorial Hospital). At the same time, our firefighters responded to this fire and saw that this fire was escalating in intensity,” said Suarez.
Police said Monday morning it was too early to say if the shooting was connected to the fire.
Miami Fire Rescue
Miami Fire Rescue said that when they arrived they found heavy smoke and flames coming from a third-floor window of the building, which is four stories, has more than 40 units, and is near downtown Miami.
“When we first arrived we found heavy smoke and flames coming from a third-floor window. As we started to enter into the building, we saw that it was occupied and we saw the flames starting to move swiftly throughout the floor. Our focus was trying to get everybody out as well as try to contain the fire,” said Miami Fire Rescue Captain Ignatius Carroll.
At least 30 people were rescued from the building, including many elderly who were in wheelchairs. One person was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation, according to Miami Fire Rescue.
“The fire started rising, the first floor, the second floor, all the way up to the fourth floor. We had firefighters come up for us so we could get down the stairs. We couldn’t get down the ladder because we had someone in a wheelchair,” said a man who lives in the building.
People who live in the building said they heard explosions as they made their way to safety. Carroll said they evacuated as many people as possible out of the complex. He said the building has a common attic which allows the fire to spread. More than 40 crews were called in to help battle the blaze.
“Right now we are just trying to get better control so it doesn’t spread to any of the other buildings,” said Carroll. “It’s a very stubborn fire that is spreading throughout the building which obviously makes it very difficult to reach when you’re doing a defensive attack. What’s happening is that the fire is spreading into areas that are not being addressed by any water or fire hoses.”
Complex fire
Carroll said it was a complex fire to fight.
“The challenging part is you can’t see anything but also you start to have compromising of the floors. We understand that probably the third-floor area was collapsing as a result, so safety is our number one priority,” said Carroll.
The building has a lot of wood infrastructure, which fueled the blaze. Carroll said there’s also limited access to the sides of the building so it was difficult getting their trucks into optimal position.
A cooling station was set up nearby to help the fire crews. Three firefighters were taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion, they were listed as stable.
A reunification centre has been set up at the community centre at San Marti Park for family and friends to contact loved ones who live in the building.
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