Incense causes fire at Lauderhill apartment building, woman tells authorities

LAUDERHILL, Fla. – Lauderhill firefighters extinguished a large blaze Tuesday morning at an apartment building.

The incident was reported at The Manors of Inverrary apartment building at 4164 Inverrary Drive.

Local 10 News reporter Andrew Perez went to scene and was told by a resident that the entire building had been evacuated.

"The property manager was like, 'Everybody out the building. Everybody out the building.' So I went upstairs and I got my wife. I said, 'Let's go. We gotta go,'" Luis Albelo said. 

Albelo said a woman who lives in the apartment from where the fire originated told firefighters that she had lit incense before the fire erupted inside her unit. 

"She said it was the incense she left on," Albelo said. "She's a Puerto Rican, single lady that stays there. She just moved in."

Perez was told that about 12 units were damaged from smoke or water.

Authorities said one firefighter suffered a heat-related injury and a resident was treated for smoke inhalation.

The official cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The American Red Cross is now assisting residents who were displaced from their homes. 


About the Authors:

Andrew Perez is a South Florida native who joined the Local 10 News team in May 2014.

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.