A fire that broke out on the 14th floor of a Miami Beach condo led to one person being hospitalized yesterday morning. The incident occurred at a high-rise building located at 1800 Sunset Harbor Drive. Flames and smoke billowed from a unit on the said floor, as a distressed woman was heard pleading for help from her balcony. "Help me! Help me!" she screamed as firefighters rushed to the scene, according to NBC Miami.
Fire rescue officials, who acted quickly upon arrival shortly after 10 a.m., managed to extinguish the fire promptly. Amidst the confusion, David Perry, who was working on the 7th floor, recounted the moment when the alarm sounded. "We started to hear the alarm and then I went to the elevator and then it started, I couldn't hear it much," Perry told NBC Miami. Arriving outside, Perry witnessed the ominous smoke trailing across the 14th floor.
In the aftermath, the balcony was visibly charred. One victim was taken to the hospital, their condition remaining undisclosed at the time. Also, firefighters found two cats in the unit unharmed. The condo building, now partly damaged, saw its residents tentatively returning around 11:30 a.m., although some were unable to access their units due to the destruction left by both fire and water, as reported by WSVN.
"You hear these alarms go off all day long and then all of a sudden they say it’s real and everyone has to scamper," Perry exclaimed, reflecting on the day's unexpected disruption. The cause of the fire was not immediately known but is under investigation. However, officials mentioned it appears to be accidental, as reported by NBC Miami.
