Andrés Azoy, an 83-year-old Cuban man who was hospitalized after being rescued from a fire in his apartment in Hialeah, has passed away.
On Wednesday, his son, Gustavo Azoy, confirmed the passing and described the last few days as the most difficult of his life.
"I lost my home, my father is gone, and I almost lost my mother too," he said in an interview with Telemundo 51, clearly affected by the tragedy.
Her mother, who was also injured in the fire, remains hospitalized.
Although the elderly man who passed away—who was a cancer survivor—was weak due to his previous health condition, he was in the process of recovering before the accident.
The tragedy also affected Shadow, the family's pet, who was initially assisted by a veterinarian from Hialeah at no cost.
Although he seemed to be improving, “this afternoon he began to have convulsions,” Gustavo explained.
A veterinary clinic in Doral has offered to care for the animal for the next 24 hours at no cost, while its condition is evaluated.
"My priority is for him to get better, but I don't know what I'm going to do, without a car, without a home. I lost everything in just a moment," Gustavo remarked, who is now facing the harsh reality of having no roof over his head and relying on his vehicle as a shelter.
However, Gustavo's car, which is his only possession at the moment, also has mechanical issues.
"I have to stay in the car just as it is, because I have nowhere else to go; it's all I have right now," she concluded, making a desperate appeal to the community for help in moving forward amidst her pain and loss.
The rescue of the elderly man
This Monday, the Hialeah police released a video from the body cameras of the officers who rescued the elderly man.
The images showed how officers and rescuers entered the burned home and, after rescuing the elderly person, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the apartment's entrance hallway. They then carried him out and rushed him to a medical center in an ambulance.
In total, four people and a dog were rescued on Saturday after a fire destroyed an apartment located on the third floor of a building at 460 East 23rd Street in Hialeah.
Gustavo Azoy clarified that an electrical short in a portable air conditioner—since the central air system of the apartment was broken—could have been the cause of the incident.
However, authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire. The apartment was completely destroyed and has been deemed unsafe by officials.
The residents of the building described the moments of panic they experienced when they became aware of the fire. Due to the high concentration of carbon dioxide, the police evacuated the entire building, affecting even the residents of the neighboring property.
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