MIAMI-DADE COUNTY – A
condominium complex in Northeast Miami-Dade caught fire
Tuesday morning causing residents to evacuate the building.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue
said a fire broke out inside a building at Wilshire
Condominium, located off Northeast Miami Gardens Drive near
14th Avenue.
Authorities said the fire started in the building’s
electrical room, sending smoke throughout the building and
forcing families to evacuate.
“Everybody got kicked out and there was a lot of smoke,”
said Valerie Solivan, who lives in the building. “They had
us sleeping in the lobby of the other building with little
beds.”
Residents were seen packing up and leaving as fire rescue
officials deemed the building unsafe. |
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Solivan and her family
told Local 10 News that they were able to get help from the
Red Cross after the fire broke out.
The building is nearly 200 units and 10 stories tall.
Solivan said it wasn’t easy walking up each flight of stairs
just to grab diapers for her sister and wanted to know what
happened and why.
“We don’t know anything--it’s horrible,” she said. “The
president isn’t talking, nobody is talking.”
Solivan says that she believes the fire could’ve been
prevented if there had been more maintenance workers.
Residents found a code compliance note on the door with
violations saying that the building must be repaired or
demolished, which cited “falling away building material and
hazardous electrical or mechanical installations.”
Authorities and construction workers said the cause of the
fire is still under investigation.