MIAMI (AP) \u2014 Flanked by his three children, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra spoke publicly Friday for the first time since fire burned down his residence and expressed appreciation for what he described as \u201cabsolutely remarkable\u201d support in the aftermath.<\/p>\n
Spoelstra\u2019s home was destroyed by a blaze that broke out sometime around 4:30 a.m. Thursday. His children, Santiago, Dante and Ruby were at their mother\u2019s home at the time and nobody was injured in the blaze. <\/p>\n
\u201cThings in the house, those things can be replaced,\u201d Spoelstra said before Miami\u2019s game with the Charlotte Hornets. \u201cAnd if they can\u2019t be replaced, what does it really matter? This is really what matters. Family, the closest ones, our dog also was safe, thank God. We\u2019re just grateful. We\u2019re grateful that everybody is safe and in a great place.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Heat won the game, 126-108.<\/a> And afterward, that\u2019s when the magnitude of the moment began sinking in for Spoelstra.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just hit me, right now, after the game. I just want to go home,\u201d Spoelstra said in his postgame news conference. \u201cMy kids, we\u2019re taken care of. I will see them tonight. But in a perfect world, I\u2019d rather go home.\u201d<\/p>\n The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Spoelstra said the Heat offered him a few days off if he needed to deal with personal matters, and he declined.<\/p>\n \u201cThe kids wanted to come to the game tonight,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cSo, I figured if they want to come to the game, then I\u2019d better work.\u201d<\/p>\n Spoelstra was on an airplane when the fire started, flying home with the Heat from a Wednesday night game in Denver. The fire was called in around 4:36 a.m. Thursday, county records showed, and the Heat charter landed in Miami about 35 minutes later.<\/p>\n Multiple fire trucks were at the fully involved scene when Spoelstra arrived at his home. He was seen walking around the outside of the property in the pre-dawn hours, sometimes stopping and holding his head in apparent disbelief as flames shot into the darkness.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to give a shoutout to the first responders, the police officers and the firemen. They were amazing,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cThey weren\u2019t able to save our house, but obviously we\u2019ve seen things that could have spread to the rest of the neighborhood. They were very kind while they were trying to put out all the flames.\u201d<\/p>\n Spoelstra said the Heat family have all offered support, and that even some of the wives and girlfriends of players on the team are already busy trying to help the kids \u2014 who went to school as normal on Friday \u2014 with a surprise or two.<\/p>\n \u201cPossibly some toys that were lost in the house,\u201d Spoelstra said. \u201cThey\u2019ve been amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n Drone footage showed that much of the home was reduced to charred rubble. Some crews remained on the scene, monitoring hotspots, until early Thursday afternoon \u2014 about eight hours after the fire was called in.<\/p>\n \u201cLadder trucks were used to attack the fire from above,\u201d Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said in a news release. \u201cThe intense heat and a partial roof collapse forced crews to take a defensive approach, fighting the fire from the outside to ensure firefighter safety. … The cause of the fire is under investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n Spoelstra, who has been with the Heat since 1995 and head coach since 2008,<\/a> bought the five-bedroom home in December 2023. He had done extensive work to the property following the purchase.<\/p>\n