MIAMI (WSVN) - A fire that broke out at a residential triplex in Miami left seven people displaced and killed two dogs.
City of Miami Fire Rescue arrived at the triplex off Northwest 59th Street, Monday morning. Once on scene, firefighters had to cut a hole in the roof to put the flames out.
According to officials, firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the flame and a search was conducted. Seven people were all safely evacuated from the building.
“When they began to try to make entry, they were approached by residents stating that there was animals inside,” said City of Miami Fire Rescue Lt.Pete Sanchez.
Five dogs and two cats were also removed from the building.
Two of those dogs succumbed to smoke inhalation after firefighters performed life-saving measures.
One of the residents, Vivian Hinnat, said she won’t be able to hold two of her fur babies again.
“I’m sorry, I miss my babies because I don’t have any children,” Hinnat said. “Those dogs are my babies, my pets, my babies. And I’m sorry about that but other than that we, we’re thankful everybody got out safe and sound.”
One person was checked out by crews after suffering small burns to their ears. They were treated at the scene and did not need to be transported to the hospital.
The fire blackened the walls of a room, broke the glass of a window and charred everything in its path.
Smoke scars now cover the front of the triplex.
“We didn’t hear no smoke detectors and nothing like that,” Wendell Carpenter said. “Nothing like that warned us at all. No smoke detectors went off.”
For Carpenter, it was her nephew who came to the rescue.
“The nephew had called me and said come on out, you know, so fire,” she said. “So that’s when he pretty much got me out and that’s when I saw it was starting to, you know, starting to go.”
An investigation into the fire is underway.
Now, the seven residents are processing what they went through and are working on their next steps.
“If I want to lose two pets that’s, that’s the least casualty but a casualty it is,” Hinnat said.
The Red Cross is assisting those that were displaced.
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