2 People Hurt In Little Havana Apartment Fire
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Two people were injured in an apartment building fire in Little Havana on Thursday.
One of the people injured was a man who made a life-saving decision to jump from his apartment and fell onto the ground.
CBS4 News obtained surveillance video from a building nearby showing the dramatic fall.
The fire was reported in a third floor unit of the Miami Riverview Apartments in the 2500 block of NW 16th Street Road around 11:30 a.m.
Firefighters told the American Red Cross a dozen units are damaged and that impacted 25 people.
About 50 firefighters were on scene to battle the two-alarm fire. Crews used ladders to rescue tenants and those trapped in the stairwells, including 14-year-old Rose Iglesias and her aunt who were trapped by smoke.
"Me and my aunt stuck our heads out. I started screaming. At least I was catching air," said Iglesias.
In moments like this, she feared the absolute worst.
"Probably I might die today. I don't know. A lot of emotions," said Iglesias.
Reports indicated that two people were transported to the hospital. One was for smoke inhalation and the other was the man who jumped from a third-story window. Alfredo Ameiro said he was with that man until help arrived.
"I went to hurry to go to help him. He had a big wound on his forehead and he was bleeding through his nose," said Ameiro.
Two things are unclear right now: the status of the man who jumped out of the building and how the fire started to begin with.
Fire rescue was able to get everyone else out safely and contained the fire in about 15-20 minutes.
"As you can imagine when we pull up you see people were running out, people screaming, telling people are trapped. So we're trying to assess that situation and act accordingly," said Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll.
According to the leasing office, everyone will be able to return to their apartments Thursday night with the exception of the unit that caught fire.
The Red Cross is assisting families who won't be able to stay at their apartments especially since the power was turned off at several units as a precaution.