A Florida home owned by Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue received a call around 4:30 a.m. about a fire at a residence in Coral Gables. More than 20 units were dispatched and “found fire that was as tall as the trees,” according to MDFR battalion chief Victoria Byrd.
“On arrival, units found a fully engulfed house on fire, including a partial collapse of the roof,” Byrd said in a video released by the fire department. “Units were able to quickly extinguish the fire; however, the fire took over control [of] most of the house. There were no reported injuries, no fatalities, and the fire is under investigation.”
Byrd told reporters on the scene that no other structures in the area were affected by the fire.
According to the fire department, no one was home during the fire. Spoelstra had coached the Heat in Denver on Wednesday night. The team’s charter flight to Miami landed at 5:11 a.m. Thursday and Spoelstra arrived at the home soon after.
Video footage shows Spoelstra walking around outside the property, at times holding his head in his hands in disbelief, as fire fighters worked to contain the flames. Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn is said to have arrived on the scene at some point as well.
Spoelstra bought the five-bedroom home in December 2023, according to property records, and later did extensive work on the property. WPLG-TV in Miami reported that a neighbor said the home had been under renovation for more than a year and that Spoelstra had recently hosted a large party in the backyard.
“We used multiple aerial apparatuses, fire engines and rescues to help combat this incident,” Byrd said. “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 that they could.”
Spoelstra, 55, has coached the Heat since 2008, taking the team to the NBA Finals five times and winning championships in 2012 and 2013, both times with the superstar trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Spoelstra signed an eight-year, $120-million contract extension with the Heat last year and recently was named as coach of the U.S. men’s basketball team for the 2027 World Cup in Qatar and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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