FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – More than 60 residents of a rehabilitation and treatment facility in Fort Lauderdale were displaced on Monday due to an overnight fire.
It happened at the TLC Recovery Center South, located at 465 SW 20th Ave., in the city’s Riverside neighborhood.
Firefighters used ladders and hoses to contain the fire, which had spread throughout the front of the facility. Over 60 firefighters were at the scene, some rescuing residents while others worked to extinguish the flames and evacuate neighboring homes.
Authorities confirmed that there were no injuries.
“The managers of the facility notified them that there were over 60 occupants in various rooms throughout the building. Crews immediately went to work, and life safety is always our number one priority,” Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan said.
Stacy Malher, who lives nearby, told Local 10 News that first responders woke her family up after her neighbors roof was about to cave in.
“We were sleeping, and about 2:30 in the morning, we heard a pounding on the front door and all the windows,” she said. “When I opened the front door and saw the firefighters, I knew something was wrong. They said, ‘There’s a fire next door, and the roof is about to cave in. You need to get out now!’”
Malher credited Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue for their quick response to the heavy blaze at the two-story treatment facility.
“We were terrified,” she said. “We were actually literally falling down trying to get our stuff together to get out the house.”
Mikayla Strang lives across the street and shared video of the firefight with Local 10 News.
“Up and down the street, there were firetrucks,” she said. “The whole power was cut out to the whole neighborhood. It was definitely nerve wracking, for sure.”
The displaced residents have been relocated to hotels or nearby treatment facilities, according to Gollan.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation and no other details about the incident were immediately released.