Video captured the chaotic and frightening moments after a fire broke out inside a Northwest Miami-Dade warehouse and became a raging inferno in minutes.
An employee who was inside the warehouse when the fire started recorded video.
“Move the stuff out of the way, move the stuff out of the way!” said someone inside the warehouse.
The flames broke out before 11 a.m. Thursday, sending towers of thick black smoke into the sky, and crews have been attempting to put the fire out since.
“What happened yesterday, it’s terrifying, I mean, the way the fire spread so fast, no one has too many chances to react, but I’m grateful to God and thanks God, all the workers in there get out alive and with no injuries, and that’s the most important thing,” said a man.
“Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units continue working on putting out the warehouse fire here in Miami Gardens. The size of the building and the materials inside have made it a very challenging situation, but our crews have made significant progress in working and knocking down hot spots throughout the structure,” said Erika Benitez with fire rescue.
While the fire spared lives, it also destroyed some livelihoods.
Nisha Ridley worked at the warehouse, and she came to the site on Friday to support her colleagues.
“In this country, it’s very hard, and someone with kids and a family, it’s too many things,” she said in Spanish. “Life is unpredictable, anything can happen in the blink of an eye, anything can happen, and just always stay strong because we have to be strong for each other right now, and that’s it.”
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office on Saturday encouraged people who stored their equipment at the warehouse to pick it up.
The warehouse will now be demolished.