House damaged after fire ignites in SW Miami-Dade; residents say they heard explosion – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) – Fierce flames damaged part of a home in Southwest Miami-Dade after neighbors said they heard what sounded like an explosion.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to the scene of the house fire along the 8700 block of Southwest 148th Place, just after 9:30 p.m., Saturday.

Area residents said the loud noise forced them out into the cold just as temperatures were dropping.

Among those who layered up and went outside their homes was Marcy Sanchez.

“You felt like the shake, and I was like, ‘Wow, that must have been a big truck or something,’ because I felt the house shake a little bit,” she said. “It sounded like an accident, but you felt like an explosion, so when we came out, we saw smoke coming out. The cops and the ambulance were out here immediately.”

Area resident Charles Rozas said he woke up to the fire and smelled smoke. He said he ran outrside and came across the owner of the house that had caught fire.

“He was really panicking. I mean, he was wearing only shorts, without a shirt,” he said. “They just got out of the house the way they were, so he was sort of naked, in a way.”

Rozas said he immediately called 911.

“I was trying to call 911; nobody answered. [My neighbor] had already called.”

But Rozas said the 911 operator didn’t speak Spanish.

“He was speaking Spanish, my neighbor, so I took the phone and I started talking to the operator,” he said.

Rozas said the neighbor told him what he believed sparked the fire.

“I said, ‘Hey, what happened?’ He was running this way, and he said [in Spanish], ‘It’s the dryer, it’s the dryer,’” he said.

Firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after and went to work. Cellphone video captured flames shooting from the rear part of the house and smoke billowing into the night sky.

MDFR Battalion Chief Kenneth Wood said the back of the house was fully engulfed.

“The first unit that arrived pulled a hose line to the rear of the structure. They had a hard time getting to it because, as you see behind us, we have a five-foot wall that goes all the way around the house,” he said. “The second unit ended up taking another hose line to the front of the house to access through the front door.”

The firefighters’ hard work eventually paid off, and they were able to douse the flames.

Area residents said the intensity of the blaze is something they don’t see every day.

“This is the first time. I’ve been living here close to 30 years. It’s the first time this has ever happened here in this community,” said Rozas. “I mean, nothing like this has ever happened.”

Cellphone video recorded on Sunday showed the scorched interior of the property.

“The inside is pretty – it’s black and, I mean, it’s condemned. Nobody can live in there,” said Rozas.

Rozas said his neighbors are thankfully doing OK.

“They’re fine, thank God. No injuries,” he said.

No other homes were damaged.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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