A family was torn apart on Wednesday after losing two loved ones in a massive house fire in Miami Gardens.
The inferno sparked in the early morning hours in the 2000 block of Northwest 185th Terrace, just blocks from the Hard Rock Stadium, and continued smoldering into the afternoon.
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WATCH HEREWhen first responders arrived, they found the home "full engulfed in flames," and two people dead inside the house, Miami Gardens police said.
The flames left widespread damage, a home reduced to ash, but the worst part was a family's palpable pain.
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Tamonjamin Williams, who escaped from a separate living area in the back of the home, spent hours outside holding onto hope that his aunt Ronda Spencer-Fordham and his uncle Tim Fordham would make it out alive.
"I’ve been calling, calling, calling, looking for them, and I'm like, the house on fire? I’m just still like in disbelief,” he said. “I had to maneuver and take my time and get the ceiling off of me, then I moved through the house and went to the door... and I couldn’t get the door open."
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Thick smoke lingered in the air as firefighters worked the scene throughout the morning. Footage showed what was left of the home after the fire ripped through it.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but neighbors recalled hearing a loud boom.
“You know I thought I was like in a dream, and I’m trying to figure out why is the ceiling on top of me and why am I hearing a boom sound inside the house, like an explosion? It didn’t make no sense to me because it’s an electrical stove inside the house,” Williams said.
Outside the longtime family home, Williams shared something that brings him some peace after losing his beloved aunt.
He said with a smile that this past Sunday was Spencer-Fordham's first one back to fellowship in church following the recent death of her son. He said it had been on her heart for a while, and he's glad she was able to return to her faith community before her passing.
“She worked for the county for many years and she was a good aunt. When she did something for one of us, she did it for all of us," Williams said. "That's why everybody showed up. That's why you all see so many people. She was very, very well loved."
