Firefighters swiftly brought a blaze under control at Lillie C. Evans K-8 Center in Northwest Miami-Dade, with crews responding to the incident at the school's cafeteria located at the intersection of Northwest 76th Street and 19th Avenue. According to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, the flames were extinguished in minutes and no injuries were reported following the outbreak of the fire just before 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, WSVN reported.
While the exact cause of the fire is currently under investigation, it was confirmed that the school, which is out for the Thanksgiving holiday, was empty at the time of the incident. The kitchen has sustained damages and will require repairs; however, firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to other parts of the building. As noted by the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, there were still several fire crews at the scene even after the fire was declared under control at 1:40 p.m.
CBS News Miami honored the school’s namesake, Mrs. Lillie C. Evans, a respected educational leader in Miami-Dade County. Evans made history by being the first to offer accredited 12th-grade education for Black children in South Florida, paving the way for future generations and promoting equal access to education.
Evans' dedication to education is honored through the school, now sadly damaged by a fire. The school, dedicated as a permanent memorial in 1959, has a deep connection to the community, as Evans oversaw schools like Washington Graded School and Booker T. Washington and Dunbar Elementary schools before retiring in 1938.
