One person is dead and another is fighting to stay alive after a fire consumed a trailer in a northwest Miami-Dade mobile home park Thursday night, officials and family members said.
The fire happened at the Palm Lakes Mobile Home Park on Northwest 27th Avenue at around 10 p.m. Dozens of firefighters battled the flames.
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Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said there were possibly two victims, a man and a woman. The woman who died used a wheelchair and was declared dead at the scene.
Officials said the man was taken in critical condition to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center.
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Meno Piña said his brother, Frank Piñeda, was inside the trailer as well. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Piña got a look at the damage inside his brother's trailer. He said he wants to know how something like this could have happened to Piñeda.
According to witness Steven Carruyo, the victims are a couple. Carruyo said he knew both victims, and while he and others tried to help get them out, it was too late.
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"The fire started going off, a lot of my friends ran up to the trailer, I tried to open it up, I couldn't," he said. "My friend... said he couldn't even open the gate or nothing... That's when the fire department came and tried to save them, but it was too late at that time."
Carruyo said "a lot of people are suffering," because the victims are "good people, older people."
Pineda was something of a father figure to Carruyo.
"I've known him since I was like 16 years old... He would always give me advice and lift me up," he said. "He always helps out the neighbors, the homeless people out in the street, and he's a very outgoing person."
As for the cause of the fire, Carruyo said he can only speculate.
"Maybe a lot of tools and a lot of stuff, extension cords connected... I kept telling him to disconnect some stuff, but he's a little hardheaded. You know, he likes to use a lot of technology," he said.
Authorities are investigating.
Back in June, residents at Palm Lakes rallied to protest against being evicted from their homes.
Residents were told they had until July 22 to leave due to fire safety regulations and sewage issues, and because the property was changing.
