MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – First responders confirmed they have recovered the bodies of a married couple from a Miami Gardens home where a fire erupted early Wednesday morning.
The fire was reported at 3:34 a.m. in the 2000 block of Northwest 185th Terrace.
5 p.m. report:
Firefighters at the scene told Local 10 News reporter Trent Kelly that the home was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived.
“Firefighters conducted a fire attack to work on extinguishing the fire, while protecting nearby structures exposed to the flames,” Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials told Local 10 News in an email. “Fire crews continued a defensive attack, due to a partial collapse of the structure.”
First responders at the scene told Kelly that a possible gas explosion led to the fire.
Noon report:
Miami Gardens police later confirmed to Local 10 that one resident reported that he woke up to a loud explosion, discovered that a fire had started inside the house and then called 911 after failing to locate his aunt and uncle.
“I was laying in the bed asleep, and then I heard an explosion, like, ‘boom!’ And that‘s what made me open my eyes and wake up,” Tamonjamin Williams said.
Williams told Local 10 that he heard several large explosions.
“And then, when I went to raise up, the whole ceiling was on top of me,” he said. “The ceiling inside the bedroom was on top of me.”
Williams was staying in the home with his aunt and uncle, who he desperately tried to find while trying to get out.
“I started calling for them. As I’m trying to get out the house, I’m calling for her, I’m calling for my uncle. And I couldn’t get out the door,” Williams said. “And then I opened the curtain and looked out the window. I said, ‘I’m about to go through the window,’ and when I grabbed the door again, God pulled the door open. And then I went out, the barred door, the security door, was off the house -- it was hanging.”
Williams identified the married couple of 20 years as Rhonda Spencer, 65, and Timothy Fordham, 59.
“I’m hurting so bad, we’re hurting so bad,” said Jamie Spencer, the victim’s sister. ”It’s not right. It’s not. We want answers. I just want to know what happened.”
Loved ones say Fordham just celebrated his birthday over the weekend.
“I’m just destroyed,” said Marvin Jones, the victim’s brother. “He was always there for me. It just seems like it’s unreal.”
Neighbors said the blasts were so strong, their own houses shook.
“The neighbor felt the shaking in the house too, that he thought somebody crashed into their house with a car,” one neighbor, Steven Narvaet said.
Fire crews used a ladder truck to douse the burning home with water.
The house was still smoldering several hours later as parts of the house were blown to pieces.
Sky 10 later flew overhead as the home was barely recognizable.
Family members said the couple who died had been together for nearly 20 years and had been living in that home for at least the last eight years.
Local 10 cameras captured several trucks from a local gas company arriving at the scene as fire investigators now try to pinpoint the source of the overnight explosions.
“I’m in disbelief,” Williams said. “I’m trying to figure out why is the house on fire, is what I’m trying to figure out.”
Relatives told Local 10 News that Spencer worked for the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. Local 10 News has reached out to the agency for comment.
The official cause of the fire remains under investigation.
WEB EXTRA: Full interview with Tamonjamin Williams: