MIAMI – A Miami apartment complex that became the scene of a shooting and historic fire is being demolished Tuesday.
Sky 10 was above the scene shortly before 7 a.m. as a crew was bringing down the building piece by piece.
“The process of demolition is definitely going to be slow. This is day one of maybe four to six weeks,” city of Miami spokeswoman Kenia Fallat said.
Following last week’s fire, the city of Miami said the building was in imminent risk of collapse, and therefore must be brought down.
“The way we do it is floor by floor, little by little. But we don’t do implosions -- that’s not the way we demolish in the city of Miami,” Fallat said.
SKY 10 OVER THE SCENE TUESDAY MORNING:
Crews used backhoes to begin the weeks-long process at what’s left of the Temple Court Apartments on Northwest Third Street near Fourth Avenue.
The project began just before 7 a.m. Tuesday, giving the former residents no chance to retrieve any belongings.
“We do know that the residents have already been informed that they are not going back inside. It is considered unsafe because if a partial collapse inside and the hazardous materials contained within,” Fallat said.
An unsafe structure sign could be seen Monday posted outside the apartment building. A bulldozer was parked inside the property and a Miami police vehicle was parked right outside to make sure no one tried to go in.
Residents only learned of the demolition a few days ago, including a woman who returned to the scene Tuesday morning hoping to find her 2-year-old cat named Titi.
Others said they understand the reasons for the quick demolition even with many personal items still left inside.
“There are people here that are disappointed to hear that and some are in disbelief because they thought there would have been a chance to salvage some of their items, but other people like myself have accepted there is nothing we can do about the building,” displaced resident Joel Enrique said.
The city says the upper floors of the two wings were supporting debris from the collapsed roof.
The water used to battle the fire and recent rains made everything worse.
The interior and exterior walls of the uppermost floors lost the structural support of the roof, making them vulnerable to wind. For all these reasons and more, the city says the building must come down.
Last week, the building burned after a resident named Juan Figueroa allegedly shot the maintenance man and set his own unit on fire. The flames spread quickly, resulting in a historic fire the likes of which had not been seen in city in more than two decades.
Dozens of mostly elderly residents were displaced.
They’re now staying at a Motel 6 as they wait to be placed in permanent housing, receiving help from the city of Miami, the Red Cross and other agencies.
The man shot is the maintenance worker at Temple Court, 30-year-old Feder Biotte.
He is still listed in critical condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital. His family told Local 10 News he underwent his third surgery Sunday as he continues his long road to recovery.
The city said there will be street closures in the area surrounding the building.