MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — A massive fire that destroyed a northwest Miami-Dade warehouse on Thursday affected people inside and out.
More than 200 firefighters responded to Global Warehouse Solutions, located just outside of Miami Gardens at 20600 NW 47th Ave., where the large blaze sent smoke billowing into the sky.
Nobody was reportedly hurt.
“I grabbed my purse real fast,” Neisha Ridley, who works inside the warehouse, told Local 10 News. “It’s heartbreaking, you know, but I’m sure the owners and all everybody else is heartbroken to see what’s happening here. But it’s just devastating.”
Ridley said the warehouse stored “everything.”
“There were rolls (of artificial turf), elevator parts,” she said. “It’s a whole bunch of different items that we house there.”
Ridley said she’s not sure what the fire means for her livelihood and those of her coworkers.
“First, we have to think about ― we all have life and then we’ll take it from there,” she said.
Another business owner said, “I have two charter busses that (are) parked at the very front of the entrance to the compound there. And then there’s another colleague of mine that has the equipment that’s parked all the way in the back.”
The business owner said at last check, none of his company’s equipment had been affected.
Meanwhile, even those not working at the warehouse had to keep an eye on the blaze.
WATCH: Residents monitor impact
At the Dominican Hair Center in nearby Miami Gardens, Jenni Rivero, who lives nearby, said that “the sky was black” after the fire broke out.
“It was just crazy,” she said.
Miami-Dade’s Department of Environmental Resources Management told Local 10 News that an air quality team “is actively monitoring the situation to determine whether regional air quality has been impacted,” adding that “preliminary readings do not indicate any regional impacts at this time.”
“I have to pick up my grandson who is 4 years old has medical issues, so I have to be very careful,” Rivero said.
Some people received alerts on their cellphones warning those with respiratory issues to shelter in place.
Zeenat Khiyani, of Dollar Plus, said she is grateful that no one was hurt, but said she’s “very concerned about the people around.”
“(It’s) bad for the environment,” she said.
Local 10 News spoke to medical experts Thursday.
“For the most part, it is really -- the people immediately near the fire are the ones who need to be the most concerned about it, the further away you get to less effect it is going to have on you,” Dr. Adam Rubin, an emergency medicine physician with Memorial Healthcare System, said. “People who do have some underlying lung problems, like asthma, will want to be indoors if possible, but for the majority of people it is just going to be an uncomfortable smell, but really should not have any real medical effects.”
Rubin said the key is to stay away from the area.
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