An explosion at a Miami-Dade County vehicle maintenance facility in Southwest Miami-Dade left one person dead and four others injured on Monday morning. The blast triggered a large emergency response and shut down a stretch of road for hours, as investigators began trying to determine what caused the explosion at the county-run site. Among those hurt was a Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office lieutenant.
The explosion happened at a facility on Southwest 87th Avenue, just south of Miller Drive. The site is known to county workers as Shop 2, a place where county vehicles are taken to have maintenance carried out. Hours after the blast, the road in front of the facility remained closed off while the scene was secured and examined.
According to authorities, the emergency calls began to come in just after 10 a.m. The explosion caused visible damage to the overhang above a fuel pump at the site. The response that followed was substantial, with around 40 fire trucks sent to the scene to deal with the aftermath and treat those who had been hurt.
In all, one person was killed in the explosion and four others were injured. The death turned what began as an emergency call into a fatal incident, and the investigation now carries the added weight of a life lost at a routine county work site that staff pass through regularly.
One of the injured was a lieutenant with the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz offered an update on the officer's condition, saying that they were grateful to report the lieutenant was in good shape. The reassurance came amid concern over the toll, given that several people had been caught up in the blast.
For now, the investigation is centering on the facility's underground fuel storage tanks. The Miami-Dade fire chief explained that the site has three vaults for gasoline and diesel, and that, as at many fuel installations, the tanks are placed underground. He noted that one of the three vaults was empty, a detail investigators are expected to examine closely as they work out what set off the explosion.
As the inquiry continues, Southwest 87th Avenue has stayed shut down near the scene. Authorities have not yet given a full account of how the blast occurred or released further details on those killed and injured, and the focus remains on the underground tanks and the conditions at the maintenance shop at the time of the explosion.