Miami-Dade firefighter hospitalized after battling storage facility blaze

A Miami-Dade firefighter was hospitalized with minor injuries suffered while battling a blaze at a public storage facility in Miami Gardens on Saturday.

The fire happened at the facility in the 17500 block of Northwest 2nd Avenue.

Footage showed smoke pouring out of the building as firefighters made their way inside.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said crews responded around 10 a.m. and found heavy smoke coming from the building.

Inside, they found multiple storage units on fire. Officials said the large amount of units inside the two-story building made it difficult and dangerous to fight.

"[It] presented a lot of challenges to actually get to the fire, because it actually had two levels inside and anytime you have a public storage facility there's a lot of different various content in there that can catch fire and create a dangerous, non-visible smoke conditions as well," Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Division Chief Michael Eng said.

Over 35 fire units responded to the scene as ladder trucks were deployed to access the roof and cut openings for ventilation.

The fire was brought under control, and crews were monitoring for hot spots.

Eng said it was hard to tell how many storage units were impacted but he said at least three were "fully engulfed."

One firefighter who suffered minor injuries was taken to a local hospital.

Before Miami-Dade Fire Rescue showed up, Perry Hilton says he was at the storage facility trying to grab a few things out of his unit when he first noticed the smoke.

“When I opened the door I saw smoke coming from the back end of the storage unit,” Hilton said. “I grabbed the fire extinguisher from her and I tried to put out the flames.”

Hilton said the fire was too much.

“The fire and smoke was coming so fast. I told everybody let's get out,” Hilton said.

Hilton said he later learned from a fire official that his unit was destroyed. He said he and his fiancé had many of their personal belongings inside.

“Everything that I had inside there was lost,” Hilton said.

Hilton admitted that he's upset, but in that moment, he realized what was more important.

“I could have tried to get my stuff out and not worry about the fire but I chose to make sure everyone in the building got out,” Hilton said. “Had I not gone there this morning, the person working would have not known there was a fire in there.”

An employee told NBC6 they would be closed possibly until Monday.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.