DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) - Crews have put out a fire that destroyed a warehouse of a Davie RV business.
Davie Fire Rescue responded to the fire at Planet RV, located along the 3000 block of Burris Road, at approximately 5:17 a.m., Monday.
7News cameras captured Gigi Stetler, the owner of the warehouse, as she surveyed what was left of her life’s work, Monday afternoon.
“This was our service center,” she said. “Thirty-five years of history is in there, and things can be replaced, and some stuff is just stuff.”
Hollywood, Pembroke Pines and Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue crews responded to the scene to assist with putting out the fire.
7SkyForce HD captured heavy smoke and flames coming from the roof of the building.
“Coming from the Turnpike and I see up there was a lot of fire and smoke,” one man said. “So shocked that why the fire is there. We’ve never seen this before. Been working here over 10 years.”
Esteban Salseiro, an employee of Planet RV, captured cellphone video of firefighters racing to extinguish the fire.
“At 5 o’clock, they called me and said there’s been a fire. I wake up. I go over there. I see a lot of smoke coming through,” he said.
Firefighters could be seen trying to access the building. They were, however, unable to access the building due to the risk of the roof collapsing.
Crews backed up and worked to protect the surrounding property.
Shortly after 9 a.m., officials reported a partial roof collapse.
“We had units stationed above on the platform, and they observed deteriorating conditions on the inside and partial roof sagging, so at that time, crews were pulled from the structure, and there was a partial roof collapse,” said Davie Fire Rescue Marshall Robert Taylor.
Thankfully, no one was inside at the time, so no firefighters were injured.
The building was declared a total loss.
“We will build back better and for our community that we love so much,” said Stetler. “We will rebuild. I promise everyone.”
Stetler is also an author. Copies of her book “Unstoppable” were one of the few things untouched by the flames.
“The books survived, and they’re all standing on the shelf, like they were never touched,” she said.
Officials said RVs have materials that are highly flammable, which could further spark the flames.
“There’s hazards there that are associated with it and could have potentially caused the fire to be more severe,” Taylor said.
Despite the fire, Stetler said they will be back open for business Tuesday morning.
“By tomorrow, I will have an RV office, generator plugged in. We will be open for business some way, somehow,” she said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but officials believe it was accidental.
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