4 South Beach Businesses Erupt In Flames

MIAMI BEACH, FL — Four South Beach businesses erupted in flames on Tuesday morning along Washington Avenue. The roof collapsed over the adjoining businesses as first responders battled thick smoke and flames. No one was injured.

Chief Jorge Linares of the Miami Beach Fire Department told Patch that firefighters pulled back from the closed storefronts when they noticed signs that the roof was likely to give way.

"The conditions were really bad and they couldn’t see anything," Linares said of first responders. "Once people start looking at the roof and it looks soft, it doesn’t take long for it to come down." (For more hurricane news or local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Miami Beach Patch, and click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

The fire broke out around 6:30 a.m. and raged until 10 a.m. Traffic was also rerouted from the area at 15 Street and Washington Avenue.

Linares said that first responders believe the fire started in the rear of Vemar Market. A passing motorist called 9-1-1.

"We can only speculate that it was in the kitchen area," Linares explained. "It could have been electrical. It could have been anything. We know the area where it started, but we just don't know what was involved and how it started."

Linares said that efforts to extinguish the blaze were hampered by pieces of the burning roof. "We had to hit from every angle," according to Linares, who said that the roof pieces continued to feed the blaze.

"The roof was collapsing and there was a lot of storage to top it off too," he said.

The fire remains under investigation.

Photo courtesy Miami Beach Fire Department