A gas pump burst into flames at a Chevron station on Bird Road in southwest Miami-Dade early Thursday morning, and the person accused of intentionally setting it ablaze fled before deputies arrived. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews extinguished the flames, and no one was injured.
The fire broke out around 2:10 a.m. at the station located at 8698 SW 40th Street, according to Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office officials cited by NBC 6 South Florida. Officials said the suspect deliberately set fire to the pump before fleeing the scene, and arson detectives are now trying to identify the person responsible. The station sits along the busy Bird Road commercial corridor, a stretch of southwest Miami-Dade known for round-the-clock service stations with automated kiosks, per BitAccess.
Fast Response Kept the Fire From Spreading
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews responded quickly and knocked down the flames before they could spread. The station's proximity to Fire Rescue Station 3 in Tropical Park, less than two miles away at 3911 SW 82nd Avenue, likely helped crews reach the scene fast enough to prevent more extensive damage, according to Miami-Dade County facility records.
Gas stations are required to have safeguards built in for exactly this kind of scenario. National Fire Protection Association Code 30A mandates that fuel dispensing facilities keep emergency electrical disconnects within 20 to 100 feet of the pumps, allowing staff or responders to instantly cut power to fuel pumps during a fire, per Franklin Electric Fueling Systems. The same code also requires high-flow dry chemical fire extinguishers positioned within 75 feet of fueling islands, according to Brooks Equipment.
Second Miami-Dade Gas Station Arson Case This Year
This is not the first time Miami-Dade deputies have investigated a deliberately set fire at a gas station this year. In February, deputies arrested a woman at a Gladeview Exxon on NW 79th Street after she allegedly removed fuel nozzles to ignite them and threatened customers, a case Hoodline covered in an earlier arson scare at an Exxon. And in January, a 36-year-old woman was arrested after buying gasoline at a Miami Exxon, pouring it into juice containers, and igniting it inside the lobby of the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office Northside District Office, according to reporting from Police1.
Whether Thursday's fire is connected to those earlier incidents remains an open question. Investigators have not said whether surveillance footage from the 24-hour Chevron or neighboring businesses on the Bird Road corridor captured the suspect's vehicle or description, nor whether accelerants were used beyond the pump itself.
Potential Charges Carry Decades in Prison
Once identified, the suspect could face serious criminal exposure. Under Florida Statute § 806.01, willfully damaging a commercial structure or property where people are normally present by fire is classified as first-degree arson, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in state prison and a $10,000 fine, according to The AP Law Group. Separately, Florida Statute § 806.031 allows for additional felony or misdemeanor charges if an arson results in bodily harm to any person or a responding firefighter, regardless of intent to injure, per Orlando Criminal Defense Lawyers. No one was hurt in Thursday's fire, but the statute underscores how much more serious the case could become had the flames reached a bystander or firefighter.
Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office arson detectives are continuing to investigate and are asking anyone with information to come forward. Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers accepts anonymous tips by phone at 305-471-8477 and online, with rewards of up to $5,000 available for information leading to an arrest, according to WSVN.
