OPA-LOCKA, FLA. (WSVN) - Paramedics rushed the owner of an auto body shop in Opa-locka to the hospital after his business erupted in flames.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to the scene of the blaze at Teiko Auto Sales, located near Northwest 20th Avenue and 139th Street, at around 9 p.m. on Thursday.
“Responding to an occupied store, unknown origin fire,” said a first responder in radio transmissions.
Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke billowing from a warehouse. Inside the structure, they found a vehicle that was fully engulfed in flames.
After a fire attack from a dozen firefighters, they were able to knock down the flames.
Paramedics transported the 43-year-old patient to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center with burns to his hands, arms and legs. His condition is unknown.
7News cameras captured the victim being wheeled into the hospital with bandaged hands and legs.
Friday morning, Brandon Petit told 7News he has a car at the shop.
“I go, ‘I hope my car is OK,'” he said.
Petit told 7News the victim is the owner of the shop and a friend of his. He was seen opening the warehouse.
Petit was relieved to find his vehicle that was consumed by the flames was not his.
“The car was burned, they had the remnants in there, and that’s it,” he said.
But Petit is now worried about his friend.
“I saw the burn on it, too, and I hope my buddy’s OK, too,” he said.
A drone camera captured damage on the roof of the business. A view from the ground shows the warehouse’s door comepletely charred, as well as piles of soot and ash outside.
People in the area said the victim suffered burns up to his elbow and all over his legs, as he continues to recover in the hospital.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The shop has yet to reopen.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.