Families uprooted, businesses closed after apartment fire in Little Havana

Three families were displaced after an apartment caught fire in Little Havana.

Miami Fire Rescue were called around 6 p.m. Tuesday to the 6000 block of Southwest Eighth Street when three second-floor apartments of a mixed-use building were smothered in heavy black smoke.

“It took about 15 minutes to get under control,” said Capt. Ignatius Carroll of Miami Fire Rescue.

The fire was caused by a lit candle in one of the apartments.

“It’s the most common, yet most preventable fires that we respond to,” Carroll said.

The apartment had significant smoke damage, leaving eight people without a home, including a 9-year-old girl. One of the families is being assisted by the American Red Cross.

Below the apartments, three businesses were flooded by the firefighters’ hoses.

A shoe repair store, a barbershop and a clothing alteration store had to close until the water damage is fixed and inspected, Carroll said. Until then, the power has been shut down in the building.

No one was injured in the fire.

This story was originally published April 15, 2015 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Families uprooted, businesses closed after apartment fire in Little Havana."