Shocking footage shows a huge fire burning down the Miami house of Heat coach, Erik Spoelstra.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue chiefs said they were called to a blaze around 4.30am on Thursday morning. They found ‘fire that was as tall as the trees.’
No injuries have so far been reported and the cause of the fire remains unclear. But, in a heartbreaking clip, a distraught Spoelstra can be seen pacing around the outside of the property with his hand on his head.
Inside, most of the house appears to have been completely gutted as flames ripped through multiple rooms. Records suggest Spoelstra bought the five-bedroom, six-bathroom home for $6.6million in late 2023.
Local news networks captured flames rising above the outside walls of the property – hours after a call went into first responders – while thick smoke poured into the sky.
Reinforcements had to be brought in to try and tackle the fire, which had reportedly engulfed ‘two structures’ on the property with flames piercing the roof of the house.
Footage shows a huge fire burning down the Miami house of Heat coach, Erik Spoelstra
A distraught Spoelstra could be seen pacing around the outside of the property
‘We found fire that was as tall as the trees,’ a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responder said
A ‘partial collapse’ forced crews to ‘switch to a defensive attack,’ which sees them tackle the fire from the outside. This is typically used when it is too dangerous to go inside or if the structure is potentially lost.
A neighbor told Local 10 News that Spoelstra had been renovating the house for at least a year. The work was believed to have been finished, however, and the NBA coach reportedly held a recent party in his backyard.
The Heat played against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, losing 122-112, before Spoelstra flew back to the devastating scene.
The NBA team’s charter flight landed back in Miami at 5:11am – more than 30 minutes after the 911 call went in.
Spoelstra soon arrived at the scene and, according to Fox, most of the blaze was under control by 8am.
‘Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded with over 20 units – including a hazardous materials response – to combat this fire,’ battalion chief Victoria Byrd said.
‘We found fire that was as tall as the trees. Our units came in and did an excellent job… due to the privacy wall and a lot of the tree cover, it was very difficult to access, with only one point of entry.
‘The men and women from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue were able to extinguish this fire and do the best job they could.’
Spoelstra is pictured courtside during the Heat’s loss to Denver, hours before the house fire
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue were called to a blaze at the property round 4.36am on Thursday
Fire crews managed to prevent the fire from spreading to any other houses in the area, which sits just south of Downtown Miami.
The Heat coach was married to Nikki Sapp from 2016 to late 2023, when the couple announced they were separating.
Their split came just weeks before Spoelstra signed a record eight-year, $120million extension with the franchise.
He and Nikki, a former Heat dancer, share three young children: Santiago, Dante, and daughter Ruby.
The Miami Heat are set to face the Charlotte Hornets in a home game at Kaseya Center on Friday night.