CUTLER BAY, FLA. (WSVN) - One person has died and another is being treated at the hospital after a house erupted in flames in Cutler Bay.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units were dispatched to the 9700 block of Montego Bay Drive in reference to a first alarm fire that ignited just before 6 a.m., Friday.
“All units enroute to the house fire, it’s going to be 9700 Montego Bay Drive,” said a dispatcher.
At the scene, crews encountered heavy smoke spewing from all sides of the residence, prompting them to work swiftly to combat the blaze and keep it from spreading to nearby structures.
The raging blaze caused a portion of the roof to cave in, leaving behind a hole that could be seen from an aerial view.
Firefighters said two occupants were inside at the time of the fire. One of them safely self-evacuated, and the other was rescued.
Both were transported to a local hospital, where one of them succumbed to their injuries.
Neighbors said an elderly couple resides at the home, and it was all hands on deck as they even tried to assist in their rescue.
“We have neighbors that are trying to get in to assist the elderly couple that can’t get out,” a dispatcher said.
7News spoke to Frank, who lives next door to the burning home with his wife.
“She said she heard a loud bang,” he said. “We were surprised we didn’t feel the heat nor did we smell anything, not until they actually broke out one of the windows on the side door after they had put the fire out.”
Neighbors were shocked to learn that one person did not survive the fire.
“I was not unaware of that. Oh, my God, that’s terrible, that’s so sad. I wasn’t sure who else or however many people may have been in the home,” said Frank.
“Shock. I was just here not too long ago, as a matter of fact, so I was very surprised,” said Kimberly Ivy, an agent with the Florida Agency for Persons with Disabilities. “It’s heart-wrenching to know that a life was lost.”
Ivy said it was an assisted-facility home.
“I’ve been with this home for probably about three years now so, and they’ve always been well taken care of, and it’s a very unfortunate situation that’s happened,” said Ivy.
She said there were three people living at the home the last time she visited.
The couple’s identities have not been released.
The fire has since been extinguished, and the cause remains under investigation.
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