Heat’s Spoelstra comments for first time since a fire destroyed his home
A day after a fire destroyed his home just outside Coral Gables, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was remarkably upbeat Friday, conveying gratitude to everyone who has reached out to offer help and expressing relief that nobody was injured in the blaze.
For his usual pregame media session, Spoelstra was accompanied on the podium by his sons Santiago and Dante and his daughter Ruby.
“The kids wanted to come to the game,” he said 105 minutes before the Heat played the Hornets at Kaseya Center. “So I figured if they wanted to come to the game, I better work.”
Spoelstra said when he drove up to his home, as it was burning to the ground in the early morning hours on Wednesday, “I knew they [his three children] were all with their mother and everybody was safe. It was just a matter of material things. You can get over that.”
Spoelstra expressed deep gratitude for the outpouring of support from everyone with the Heat, friends and the NBA community -- and the firefighters who worked to try to salvage whatever they could.
“I’ve heard from everybody in the NBA community, other sports, friends from all over the world... No opportunity to get back to everybody. I want to say thank you to everybody. My emails and text messages have been flooded. It definitely is odd and strange to go through something like this with your family, and basically have everybody know about it.
“I just want to thank everybody for their overwhelming support. The South Florida community, the NBA community, the schooling community have been amazing. Everyone wanting to help. It’s something that has been uniquely challenging for our family. But the Spoelstras are resilient.”
Spoelstra said “things in the house, those things that can be replaced. If they cannot be replaced, what does it really matter? This really is what matters, our family. Our dog also is safe; was not in the house. We’re grateful everyone is safe.”
Spoelstra, in his 18th season as the Heat’s coach, said he also “wants to give a shout out to first responders, police officers, firemen. They weren’t able to save our house [but saved] the rest of the neighborhood. They were very kind while they were trying to put out all the flames. I appreciative to the Heat family - Pat [Riley], Micky Arison], Nick [Arison], Andy [Elisburg], everybody reached out right away. Asked if I needed a few days.”
He declined their offer to take time off.
Spoelstra said losing his home “affects our family in a big way” but the “routine,” including going to work on Friday, helped him “compartmentalize. I’m appreciative of the routine. The routine has been good today.”
He said his three children “had to go to school. No days off from school... And I’m excited to be here and prepare for the game. The players and the staff were amazing, reaching out today.”
Turning to his children beside him on the podium, he said players and their wives and girlfriends are “organizing to get you guys some surprises, possibly some toys we lost in the house.”
The fire at Spoelstra’s 5,700-square-foot residence on Southwest 80th Street burned for nearly eight hours before firefighters could fully extinguish it.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials said the sprawling property — complete with a pool, tennis court and dense tree coverage — was difficult to access. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Victoria Byrd said the blaze was challenging to reach because of heavy foliage and a privacy wall leaving firefighters with only one entry point.
The two-alarm blaze was first reported by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper who happened to be driving in the area around 4:30 a.m., according to the calls. Spoelstra and team landed in Miami, on their flight from Denver, at 5:03 a.m. and Spoelstra rushed to his home.
Videos taken at the scene show Spoelstra standing near the fire, visibly distressed, as firefighters worked to contain the inferno.
Dispatch audio obtained by the Miami Herald from the early moments of the response revealed the firefighters’ struggle to generate the water supply needed to get the blaze under control.
“I’ve got a heavy fire. I have limited units on scene. We have a water supply established. I’ve got Engine 14 attempting fire attack,” a commander said over the radio as crews struggled to establish water lines from a distant hydrant.
“Engine 23 drive, we need to get moving on that water, brother. We got no water,” a firefighter is heard saying to colleagues about 15 minutes into the emergency.
The firefighters who first arrived thought the blaze had started in a smaller structure behind Spoelstra’s main residence.
“You’ve got a very large house. The property that is on fire is in the rear,” the commander said. But as they moved closer, they saw smoke billowing from the garage and the main home.
The commander determined the whole property was on fire, and that it was rapidly growing.
Firefighters also reported seeing ruptured gas lines on the property, including one that was on fire. Videos taken at the scene show Spoelstra standing near the fire, visibly distressed, as firefighters worked to contain the inferno.
An investigation to determine the cause of the fire is ongoing.
Adebayo update
Adebayo, who is wearing a walking boot on his left foot while dealing with a sprained left big toe, is out for Friday’s game and listed as “day to day.” Pelle Larsson, who was listed as questionable with an illness, is available for the Hornets game.
This story was originally published November 7, 2025 at 6:31 PM.
