The Cuban singer María Antonieta Fernández, who was among the people displaced by the fierce fire in a building that occurred on Monday morning in Miami, says that she lost everything in the incident.
"I am really very nervous, very worried," she said in an interview with journalist Ninoska Pérez for the radio station La Nueva Poderosa, while the building was still being consumed by the flames.
The artist was forced to leave her home in her pajamas and couldn't save anything, not even the computer where she stored all her artistic material and recordings.
She recounted that she was in the bathroom when it all started, and that the smoke entered her apartment very quickly because the fire broke out very close to her home.
He said he gives thanks to God and to the quick response of the emergency services that prevented any fatalities.
"The firefighters knocked on doors checking and took care of evacuating those who could not leave on their own," detailed.
Despite the tragedy, María Antonieta shared that she has received great support from friends and family.
"I have many friends who have offered to help me with clothes, shoes, and I am infinitely grateful," he said.
Even without a fixed place to stay, he relies on the solidarity of the community.
María Antonieta explained that she had a performance scheduled at the Alfaros nightclub for Friday night, which she plans to keep, despite the incident that has turned her life around.
"I have work on Friday at Alfaros and I won't leave the audience waiting," she stated, and added that with the help of her musical director and her producer, she is getting ready for her artistic performance.
"I am The Lioness of Cuba and I will continue being The Lioness until God calls me to his homeland," concluded the artist, who has been living in Miami since 2012.
María Antonieta - who recently celebrated her 50-year artistic career with a show at the Alfaros club in Little Havana - even broadcast live the moment when the firefighters and emergency services began to arrive in the area.
In a post on their social media, they lamented not having known anything about their cat since the fire.
The calls reporting a fire outbreak in the Temple Court apartments, near downtown Miami, prompted a swift response from the Miami Fire Department around 8:15 a.m. on June 10th.
Upon arriving at the scene, the firefighters managed to rescue the residents who were stranded on the balconies of the building unharmed and safe.
Francis Suárez worked together with the Red Cross to quickly help displaced people at the "José Martí" gym by offering them hot meals, medication, and organizing temporary shelter options for those who could not stay at the homes of family or friends.
Manolo Reyes, city commissioner, explained that they will be providing a $250 gift card for groceries and essential toiletries to each person entering the shelters.
The residents affected by the fire, many of them elderly, will receive assistance for their urgent needs.
The person found injured by a gunshot at the entrance of the property was identified as an employee of Atlantic Housing Management, the company that manages the apartments. The victim was transported to a nearby hospital, where they remain in critical condition, as reported by Local 10 this Monday.
In the last few hours, the identity of the man who allegedly shot the building manager and caused an intentional fire in the property was revealed, a 73-year-old man identified as Juan Francisco Figueroa, who has a criminal record.
The man is now facing charges of attempted murder with a firearm, felony, and arson, according to the jail record.
The fire, which lasted at least five hours, caused the partial collapse of the roof of the west sector of the building, defying even the persistent downpour that fell during the emergency.
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