MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA (ENN) - Two men were killed and 14 others were transported to area hospitals when a fire broke out in a 15-story Miami Beach apartment building on Friday morning. The blaze started in a 10th floor apartment unit at about 0600 EDT. Police said that the cause of the fire was probably electrical.
One of the dead victims fell to his death after clinging to a window ledge for about ten minutes. The 38-year-old victim was reportedly trying to reach a balcony about 12-feet away. One witness described, "He was like, climbing out. He was trying to get over and there was nowhere to grab."
The 44-year-old brother of the above victim was brought out of the building by firefighters, but later died at a hospital. A 43-year-old man was rescued by firefighters and was reported to be in stable condition. Fourteen other people, including two firefighters, suffered smoke inhalation and were transported by EMS. 68 other people were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.
The blaze started in the apartment unit across the hall from the three men. Officials said that the men made a fatal mistake by opening their door, which allowed the flames to enter their apartment. Firefighters did save at least one man via a tower ladder, but were hampered getting set up because of double- and triple-parked cars, said to be common in the area. Several apartment units were damaged in the blaze which took firefighters about two hours to bring fully under control.
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