NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Crews extinguished a massive fire that engulfed at least three luxury boats in Northwest Miami-Dade.
Thick black smoke and bright orange flames were seen pouring out of the boats along the 2700 block of Northwest North River Drive, near Miami International Airport, at around 3:30 a.m. on Friday.
A nearby business owner described the blaze like that of an explosion, as its intensity shattered windows across the river.
“They’re advising the yacht is on fire. There was an explosion behind La Pantera Negra,” said one dispatcher.
One man who was staying at a nearby hotel said he woke up to the sound of an explosion.
“I knew it either had to be an explosion. She thought a plane may have crashed, but it literally shook the entire hotel,” said Dewayne Cummings.
Cummings said the blaze was massive.
“We could see the flames, they were up above this building right here, and I mean huge,” said Cummings.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office units raced to the scene. Deputies established a perimeter and shut down nearby streets, as firefighters used water and foam to knock out the flames.
“In Miami-Dade County, it’s three yachts; it looks like two 60-footers and possibly a 90-footer are in the water,” said another dispatcher.
7News cameras captured one of the yachts completely submerged, while another was nearly underwater, with only the bow of the yacht visible. As for the third yacht, it stayed afloat, but the back of the vessel was melted and charred.
The scorched yachts and remnants of foam floating in the river convey the magnitude of the fire and the hours-long battle to contain it.
“We have a limited foam supply,” said one officer. “It would be a good idea to possibly request a foam truck from the airport and also consider a city fireboat. They have a larger capacity foam.”
The smell of smoke and chemicals lingered in the air several hours after the fire sparked.
Authorities said they were working to mitigate environmental damage caused by fuel run off from the boats.
A diver said he was getting ready to dive into the water to investigate any damage.
“There’s an environmental problem going on right now that the Coast Guard is taking care of at the moment. Fish die from that, they get poisoned. We got all kinds of fish. Manatees, sharks, alligators in this water and they are basically getting harmed by this oil,” said Sebastián Bringuier.
According to authorities, no injuries have been reported.
It remains unclear what caused the fire to spread.
MDSO detectives said the incident is now being investigation as arson.
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