Early this morning, the Coral Gables neighborhood was disrupted as two vehicles were consumed by flames outside a residence on Ferdinand Street, following a harrowing incident where a power line fortuitously collapsed upon them. According to Local 10, the fire department received a call just before 6 a.m. and hurried to the 1800 block where the vehicles had caught fire, with the fallen power line igniting the blaze that threatened to spread to the nearby home.
As flames threatened the edges of the home, firefighters quickly deactivated the FPL power grid, preventing further damages, Lieutenant Ishmael Roig of Coral Gables Fire Rescue underscored the severity of the situation, "We had our battalion chief on duty realize the gravity of the situation, and as soon as he saw crews extending their hose lines to put water on it, he said, 'Hold on a second. Let’s go ahead and shut down the FPL power grid so we can fight that fire and save that house,'" he said in a statement obtained by Local 10.
Aerial footage from Chopper 6 revealed the severe damage, showing the two vehicles reduced to charred remains after the fire was put out. As reported by NBC Miami, it appeared that a mysterious accident had led to the power line collapsing directly onto the cars, and while the cause was still under investigation no injuries were reported in the incident that left two vehicles destroyed.
As the smoke cleared, the residents who had been present in the home during this event were confirmed by the fire department to have been safely outside upon their arrival thus avoiding any harm, the investigations led by both the fire department and FPL are currently ongoing to determine the sequence of events that precipitated the power line's failure and consequent fire.
