FLORIDA CITY, Fla. – A propane explosion at a commercial strip mall in Florida City sent 10 people to the hospital and caused a partial roof collapse at a bakery Saturday morning, authorities said.
The blast occurred just before 9 a.m. at Palm Bakery, located at 941 West Palm Drive.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said the bakery was closed to the public, but gas company workers were inside when the explosion happened. A small fire was still burning when firefighters arrived.
MDFR officials said a total of 10 people were affected by the explosion and more than 27 of the agency’s units responded to the scene.
Authorities said they transported eight of the ten victims to local hospitals, including two who were classified as trauma alerts and airlifted to a burn unit at a nearby trauma center.
Officials said two other individuals made their way to hospitals on their own before emergency crews arrived. Authorities confirmed that all 10 victims were reported in stable condition, but they haven’t disclosed the extent of their injuries.
Fire crews quickly shut off the gas to the building and used K-9s to comb through the collapsed roof area for potential victims. MDFR said no one else was found trapped beneath the rubble.
“There was very little room to get in there,” said MDFR Division Chief Horacio Rodriguez. “It’s not safe for our units to get in there which is why we dispatched the dogs.”
Authorities said the explosion caused significant structural damage, and at least one business has since been condemned as unsafe to enter.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene as emergency crews rushed to help.
“I was just surprised,” said one bystander. “You wouldn’t expect something like this to happen down here in Florida City.”
MDFR confirmed that the explosion damaged multiple neighboring businesses, although they also confirmed those stores were not open at the time of the incident.
Erika Benitez, an MDFR spokesperson, provided an update on the explosion in this video:
She said the cause of the explosion is currently under investigation.
Editor’s note: MDFR initially reported that eight people were hospitalized following the explosion, but later clarified that a total of 10 individuals were involved.
