A major fire took over a mobile home community in Hialeah Gardens leaving at least one home and a few cars burned. NBC 6’s Victor Jorge reports.
A home in a Hialeah Gardens trailer park was completely engulfed in flames early Saturday morning leaving one man displaced, but glad to be alive.
The incident occured around 5:30 a.m. Saturday near US-27 and 122nd Street in Hialeah Gardens.
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Video shows angry flames taking over the home and spreading after a palm tree caught on fire.
"This is so embarrassing," said the man who lost his home, Rick Cabrera.
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Cabrera told NBC 6 the fire started when he tried to burn some strings from his shorts. When he heard the alarm and saw the flames, he tried his best to stop the fire.
“I immediately grabbed the comforter," Cabrera said. "I tried to smother the fire. I ran to the bathroom, and I got the garbage can out, and I tried to fill it with water, but the water pressure here is like drops.”
Luckily, he and his dog, Tyra Banks, made it out of this massive fire alive.
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“Trailer homes tend to become fully engulfed pretty quickly," said Mark Chavers, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Division Chief. "They burn pretty fast, so the fires tend to advance pretty quickly.”
One neighbor, Monica Rivera, had the same fear.
“I’m pregnant and I’m due next week," Rivera said. "So my kids and everyone, the cars, everything… my concern was that our house would catch fire too.”
Cabrera told NBC 6 he does not know what to do next, but he is thankful to his neighbors for calling firefighters and for all the support while he figures out his next steps.
