Miami, Florida: Fire at Blue Lakes Apartments in Flagami Sends Two to Hospital, Displaces at Least 15

A fire in a fourth-floor apartment at the Blue Lakes Apartments in Miami's Flagami neighborhood forced the evacuation of all 52 units early Tuesday, Oct. 27, and sent two elderly residents to a hospital with minor smoke inhalation. At least 15 residents were displaced, and officials said the people who live on the fourth floor cannot return yet.

Miami Fire Rescue said crews were called to the building near Northwest Seventh Street and Northwest 52nd Avenue at about 2:30 a.m. Firefighters found one fourth-floor unit in flames. More than 100 firefighters responded, and the flames were out in roughly 30 to 40 minutes, according to fire officials and local television reports.

Getting the whole building out

The evacuation covered every unit in the five-story building. Crews helped residents who use wheelchairs and residents who cannot move without assistance, in a building with a single elevator and a large number of elderly tenants. The two residents taken to a hospital were elderly and were treated for minor smoke inhalation. No other injuries were reported in the first accounts from the scene.

Firefighters contained the flames to the apartment where the fire started. Smoke and water damage spread beyond that unit, and video from the apartment showed blackened walls and debris. Officials said fourth-floor residents will not be able to go back in until the damage is assessed.

What is not yet known

Fire officials had not given a cause for the fire by Tuesday morning. They also had not said when the fourth floor can reopen or where the displaced residents will stay while their homes are unusable. The count of displaced residents stood at at least 15 in the reports from CBS News Miami, WPLG Local 10 and WSVN on Tuesday morning, and it could change as building managers and fire officials finish checking each unit.

Flagami, whose name joins Flagler Street and the Tamiami Trail, sits southwest of Miami International Airport, and its apartment buildings house many longtime and elderly residents. For the families at Blue Lakes, the next step is a damage assessment of the fourth floor and word from officials on when it is safe to return.

This story will be updated on the original article if officials release a cause or a time for residents to return.