HIALEAH, Fla. (WSVN) — Lightning struck a condominium in Hialeah, Wednesday evening, causing dozens of residents to evacuate their homes.
Four units on the top floor of Alameda Towers, in the area of West 21st Court and 54th Street in Hialeah, have been left badly damaged after the lightning struck and ignited a fire. Hialeah Fire Rescue units were dispatched to the scene.
One day later, apartment residents could still smell the strong vapors from the fierce fire. Thursday, residents continued collecting whatever they could salvage out of their damaged homes.
Nearly two dozen families, whose apartments suffered the most damage, are still not being allowed back in.
A cellphone camera captured the flames as it came out of the roof of the building, Wednesday evening. "I heard a lightning strike, but I didn’t realize what it was," said neighbor Howard Chambers.
Witnesses reported hearing an explosion before 4 p.m. "I saw smoke coming out one of the elevators," said resident Esteban Torrens.
Torrens said he was coming home from school when he saw the fire. He shot the cellphone video but not before helping his neighbors. "I put down the fire alarm, and then I rushed everybody out."
One elderly woman was treated for minor injuries. "It was one elderly female who was treated for some shortness of breath," said Hialeah Fire Rescue Capt. Cesar Espinosa. "She is OK, she was not transported."
Rafael Anaya lives on the fourth floor and said he lost everything except his family. His three young daughters were inside with his mother-in-law and grandmother when the fire broke out. That’s when his sister-in-law, Yenoy Barrera, rushed into the building. "My little nieces were scared, so I was like, ‘Oh, I gotta go for them,’" she said.
Everyone made it out safely and as they wait for the estimates on damage, they counted their blessings. "It could have been worse," Barrera said. "I’m not really worried about the things. I was just worried about the important papers and my nieces. As long as those things are good, then that’s it."
The Red Cross is helping those families who were forced from their home. There were no serious injuries.