Photo by: wsvn
Firefighters are battling a massive warehouse fire near the Florida Turnpike in Northwest Miami-Dade.
7Skyforce hovered near the scene of the blaze near the 20600 block of Northwest 47th Avenue, north of Miami Gardens and near the Broward County line, just before 11 a.m. on Thursday.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews dispatched additional units, including Miramar Fire Rescue, and the fire quickly escalated to a four-alarm blaze.
At around 12:30 p.m., it was upgraded to a five-alarm fire.
At an afternoon news conference, MDFR Chief Raied “Ray” Jadallah said over 200 MDFR crews responded to the scene.
The structure was engulfed by flames, as a large plume of dark smoke billowed into the sky. 7News cameras captured the roof and metal walls collapsing under the intense heat of the blaze.
“We encountered many challenges when we got here, including the size of this structure, being a warehouse that’s over 300,000 square feet. Access was limited,” said MDFR Assistant Fire Chief Jason Fernandez.
Fire officials say the warehouse is almost twice the size of a Costco warehouse and houses thousands of items ranging from firewood to shampoo and deodorant.
7Skyforce’s Ralph Rayburn said several parked vehicles caught fire next to the warehouse.
Firefighters determined there was an eight-inch water main system in this industrial area, and they were able to tap into several hydrants to help battle the flames.
Crews later discovered hazardous chemicals in the area, but Miami-Dade Commission Chair Oliver Gilbert said the chemicals were stored in a warehouse near the one that erupted in flames.
Gilbert said the burning warehouse is a recycling facility.
A hazmat crew set up a command post along Northwest 47th Avenue, as crews continue to conduct a defensive attack from the air and ground. They have not provided further details as to what may have sparked the flames.
But employees say they believe an electrical issue may have caused it.
“I think it was a problem with the electrical stuff in the roof,” said employee Alejandro.
Other employees described the moments before the warehouse was engulfed in flames.
“I heard Laura scream something, but I thought there was a fight, but then I saw people running in and out. When I ran out, there was a fire by the shelter,” said employee Nesia. “More than frightening. I’ve never experienced something like this in my life. Really devastating and heartbreaking.”
Alejandro said he and others tried to extinguish the flames before they got out of control, but were unsuccessful.
“I walked to the fire and tried to stop it with the extinguisher, but it was too fast,” he said.
Authorities set up a perimeter all day Thursday and shut down Northwest 47th Avenue between 199th and 215th streets for many hours. As of 10 p.m., Thursday, all lanes have reopened in both directions.
Many residents who live and work in the area said they were stunned to see the black smoke filling the sky.
“I live right across the street. It’s crazy. I’ve never seen anything like this, and it scared me. I was not even in the neighborhood. I saw it in my rear view mirror, and I turned around just in case,” said area resident Tessa Rambeau.
She said she returned home fearing the fire could spread.
“If [the fire] got into my neighborhood, if I had to evacuate or get anything out of my house, I have animals, loved ones. Scary!” she said.
A woman who parks her food truck next to where the fire sparked believes it was left untouched by the flames.
“I’ve been here since this morning trying to get to it, but the authorities won’t let me, but thank you for the Lord’s sake that everything is intact,” said food truck owner Benny Moncion in Spanish.
Barber Jimmy Pichardo, who works at a shop near where the fire erupted, said he watched it all unfold in real time.
“I was cutting up a client, and out of nowhere, I just saw everybody crowding up over there in the corner. I went to check, and you see the big cloud of smoke. It was intense,” he said.
Others in the shop hope everyone got out safely.
“I hope everyone got out safe and no one got hurt. I hope there was nobody injured,” said barber Rafael.
Officials later told 7News that they believe everyone who was inside the warehouse was able to exit safely, but they won’t know for sure until they get the fire under control.
Miami-Dade County officials sent an alert urging people with respiratory issues or medical conditions within a five-mile radius of the blaze to remain indoors.
“People who have underlying lung problems, asthma, [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease], those are people who are going to be more susceptible to the irritation and the smell. You want to be indoors if possible,” said Dr. Adam Rubin, an emergency medicine specialist for Memorial Healthcare System.
The Florida Forest Service is monitoring the area to prevent brush fires.
As of 10 p.m. on Thursday, 7News cameras captured firefighters on ladders and flashlights as they continued battling the flames.
Jadallah said the fire is expected to burn for days.
“This fire continues to burn. There is a possibility this fire will burn for a couple of days due to the roof collapse on this warehouse. There’s still a lot of material that is underneath the roof that has not burned, and we continue trying to extinguish the fire,” he said.
The fire marshal is investigating this fire.
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Source: wsvn
