NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - An early morning fire tore through a home in Northwest Miami-Dade and claimed the lives of two people, leading police to detain several people.
According to Miami-Dade Police, the blaze broke out along the 1900 block of Northwest 53rd Street, at around 3 a.m. on Friday.
Investigators said five people lived inside the house. Once the fire started, two of them became trapped.
Firefighters responded to the scene and began to battle the blaze.
A neighbor said she heard loud banging in the middle of the night. She said she looked out the window and saw fire and smoke.
“I’m like, ‘OK, what’s going on? What’s the racket at 3 a.m. in the morning?'” she said.
The neighbor said she ran outside and saw two men who were tryong to call 911. Their phones weren’t working, so she went back inside and called for help.
When Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units arrived to find three of the residents outside the home. THey learned the other two were trapped inside.
Firefighters worked swiftly to tackle the heavy smoke and flames, even breaking the windows and climbing the roof in order to ventilate the property.
“It was like multiple fire trucks. It felt like every cop in the city, every ambulance, and every fire rescue [were here],” said the neighbor who spoke with 7News.
“Attention all units, the second alarm fire on TAC one is now under control,” was heard over Broadcastify police scanner.
Crews pulled a man and a woman from the home and administered life-saving efforts. They did not survive.
Neighbors identified one of the victims as Barbara Tamayo.
A third resident, Jorge Marin, suffered burns on his back and hands. He spoke with 7News in Spanish.
“Look, I have burns. I’m the victim, I’m the injured one,” said Marin as he turned around to show the burns on his lower back. “There are two dead, and the injured one they are referring to is me.”
Marine believes the fire was related to an argument and may have been set intentionally, but investigators have not said anytghing about how they believe this fire started.
As of late Friday afternoon, detectives have not released the victims’ identities.
Police said several people were detained for questioning. However, no arrests have been made.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.