MIAMI – Miami firefighters found a person dead in an efficiency used as a short-term rental after extinguishing a fire on Sunday morning.
Firefighters responded to the house shortly before 2 a.m., at 3056 SW 13th St., in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. They controlled the fire within about 10 minutes.
“I just want to thank God for allowing me to be alive,” Operrlyne, a woman who was stating at the rental with her two children, said. “My heart goes out to that family that lost their loved one.”
The front windows of the main house were cracked. Two men used tools and plywood to block access to the main door. The backyard was full of burned debris from the efficiency.
The damage from the fire is so bad that city building inspectors have since deemed the property an unsafe structure.
Operrlyne told Local 10 News reporter Samiar Nefzi that she had decided to leave the rental with her kids prior to the fire.
She said the words of a police officer made her feel lucky: “If you would have been there, you wouldn’t have made it out.”
“I said, ‘Wow, my family could have been here.’ I don’t know how I would have gotten passed it,” another person identified only as Jeremiah said.
Ultimately, it was Operrlyne’s gut feeling that saved not only her life, but her children’s too, after deciding to stay at her partner’s place instead of the rental.
“I just got this feeling for some reason -- I didn’t feel comfortable,” she said. “I just want to thank God for allowing me to be alive.
Miami police confirmed that one person was detained following the blaze but have not disclosed their identity or whether charges will be filed.
Detectives are investigating the case and asked anyone with information about this or other cases to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.
Local 10 News Assignment Desk Editor Mercedes Cevallos contributed to this report.