MIAMI (WSVN) - A survivor is speaking out after an apartment fire in Miami sparked, sending a man to the hospital with severe burns.
The survivor, who did not want to share her name, said that the fire started after two loud booms, and the wall of her bedroom began to crack.
“What was actually going through my head was ‘Thank God, I’m alive.'” she said.
The explosion was in a room next to her own, leaving her roommate severely burned.
“I heard a boom,” said the survivor. “Then a second louder bigger boom, then I heard the scream I’ll never forget.”
She then called 911 as she ran to her roommate’s door.
“I’m screaming at him through the door that ‘Your door is locked, can you help me, can you help me?'” she said.
He was able to unlock the door, but she was unable to reach him. However, a Miami Police officer was pulling up at that moment.
Officials said the officer braved the fierce flames and got the victim out.
“We are grateful for the Miami Police officer’s quick actions, and going in there heroically to pull him out,” said Miami Fire Rescue Lt. Pete Sanchez.
Video shared with 7News by Miami Fire Rescue captured firefighters inside the burned-out unit along the 1300 block of Northwest 40th Street.
“When we arrived, we found a two-story structure, like a multi-family residential with heavy smoke billowing from the front door,” said Sanchez.
Paramedics with the Miami Fire Rescue rushed the 36-year-old man to Jackson Memorial Hospital Ryder Trauma Center with burns on 90% of his body. As of late Wednesday afternoon, he remains in critical condition.
An investigation by officials revealed the victim had a gas can inside his room, and when he went to light the cigarette, it triggered the fire.
The room was left completely unrecognizable, with the roof and walls burned down to the bare bones of the structure. What’s left of the bed reduced is rusty wires.
Now, the survivor is thankful she’s alive.
“Just devastation,” said the survivor. “Because I can just imagine that wall being blown out and that wall of fire coming directly towards me, so just thank God I’m alive.”
Daniel Rivera, the manager of the apartment building where the fire took place, showed a 7News crew the bedroom where, officials said, the gas can exploded Tuesday night.
“We were lucky because I think we could have lost the whole unit. The fire was in that room, and there was a person in front that was able to act and call the ambulance, fire rescue,” said Rivera.
7News cameras later captured residents of the complex standing outside as the smoke and flames raged on. One neighbor was seen holding a dog after firefighters pulled it out to safety.
Saleha Azzouzi was among the second-floor residents who evacuated the building.
“I was in my room, and I saw smoke, and I went to my roommate [and said], ‘Get up, it’s a fire,'” she said. “So the firefighters, they said, ‘OK, if you can get out, get out.’ It was all smoke.”
Azzouzi said it was traumatic seeing first responders try to save her downstairs neighbor, who suffered severe burns.
“It was scary,” she said.
Crews were able to save the upstairs portion of the building from being damaged, but the first-floor units were destroyed. Those who live in those units have been displaced, including the injured victim.
Officials urge residents not to keep gas cans indoors. In a statement, Sanchez wrote, “Miami Fire Rescue pleads to the public to not keep gas cans anywhere inside their homes and do not use lighters or matches near any fumes. This incident is an example of what can go wrong. The investigation is ongoing.”
Back at the apartment building, a maintenance crew was seen at the first-floor unit where the fire started to see what they could repair.
Azzouzi said she and her loved ones they kept their windows and doors open to air out the nauseating smell of smoke and were able to sleep there overnight. They said they’re glad to be OK and are praying for her neighbor, who is currently fighting for his life.
Volunteers with the American Red Cross is now helping the three adults who have been impacted.
As for the survivor, she said that her roommate has always stayed to himself, and was only known by his nickname.
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