Little Havana Apartment Evacuated After Fire
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LITTLE HAVANA (CBSMiami) -- More than a dozen residents in Little Havana are in need of a place to stay after an apartment fire forced them out of their homes Sunday.
Heavy smoke and flames were seen coming from a third floor unit Sunday, located at 2046 West Flagler Street, around 4:30 a.m.
Evacuating the building proved to be a challenge for some.
"You can't see anything," said 14-year-old Carlos Moreno, who woke his mother up after hearing the fire alarms. "It was all black with smoke. You can barely see."
Firefighters also found it difficult getting residents out of the building.
"We see that several people evacuated, but other people on the floors above, that were elderly people, unable to really get out quickly, were sheltered in place. And we placed firefighters on those floors to monitor those floors in the event that we had to evacuate them," said Miami Fire Rescue's Lt. Ignatius Carroll.
It took about 15 minutes to get the fire under control but not before flames damaged several units, including the apartment where the fire originated.
That unit belongs to Roberto Viche, who uses a walker to get around. The fire gutted his home and he had to leave everything behind as he rushed out, aggravating his heart problems.
"The resident of that one particular unit was very lucky that his smoke detector went off, because, you see, he has to use a walker to get around," said Lt. Carroll. "And sometimes he has to use a wheelchair that we found inside his unit."
Another resident needed to be rescued from their third floor balcony.
About 13 people are expected to be displaced from their home. However, no one was hurt.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
