The nightclub reportedly owed $17,000 by Thursday. Thursday morning, the club burned
By David J. Neal and
Michelle Marchante
An overnight Thursday fire at a nightclub on the edge of Miami’s Flagami neighborhood is being investigated as possible arson, Miami Fire Rescue said.
The notice on the door of Rumbas, 4545 NW Seventh St., says the owner must pay almost $17,000 in rent and late fees by Thursday or vacate, according to Miami Herald news partner CBS4.
Also on the door, according to Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll: an eviction notice.
“Fire investigators were on scene. We believe this to be a suspicious fire,” Carroll said.
When firefighters answered the 3 a.m. call, Carroll said, they found one of the disco club’s front window panels moved and the front door unlocked, according to Miami Fire Rescue.
“Firefighters found heavy fire towards the rear of the business,” said Carroll, fire rescue spokesman.
Rumbas, 4545 Northwest Seventh St., went up in flames early Thursday morning. It may have been arson, according to Miami Fire Rescue. Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll
The fire did not extend into the other businesses and was quickly put out, he said. But, smoke did enter the barbershop next door and the karate school upstairs.
No one was injured. The owner of the nightclub, which has a Facebook page promoting a Nicaraguan ambiance, had not been located as of Thursday morning, Carroll said.
Michelle Marchante covers the pulse of healthcare in South Florida and also the City of Coral Gables. Before that, she covered the COVID-19 pandemic, hurricanes, crime, education, entertainment and other topics in South Florida for the Herald as a breaking news reporter. She recently won first place in the health reporting category in the 2025 Sunshine State Awards for her coverage of Steward Health’s bankruptcy. An investigative series about the abrupt closure of a Miami heart transplant program led Michelle and her colleagues to be recognized as finalists in two 2024 Florida Sunshine State Award categories. She also won second place in the 73rd annual Green Eyeshade Awards for her consumer-focused healthcare stories and was part of the team of reporters who won a 2022 Pulitzer Prize for the Miami Herald’s breaking news coverage of the Surfside building collapse. Michelle graduated with honors from Florida International University and was a 2025 National Press Foundation Covering Workplace Mental Health fellow and a 2020-2021 Poynter-Koch Media & Journalism fellow. Support my work with a digital subscription
Since 1989, David J. Neal’s domain at the Miami Herald has expanded to include writing about Panthers (NHL and FIU), Dolphins, old school animation, food safety, fraud, naughty lawyers, bad doctors and all manner of breaking news. He drinks coladas whole. He does not work Indianapolis 500 Race Day.
