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A massive fire broke out at a warehouse in Miami Gardens, Florida late on Thursday morning. The blaze sent thick black smoke high into the sky and forced emergency crews to rush to the scene.

Authorities said the blaze started at a facility operated by Global Warehouse Solutions.

Fire officials later called the incident a four-alarm fire, which means many firefighters and emergency crews had to respond to control the blaze.

What Happened At Warehouse?

The fire broke out at a six-story warehouse building located at 20600 NW 47th Avenue in Miami Gardens. Firefighters from several departments arrived quickly and began efforts to control the flames.

Emergency crews worked from multiple sides of the building. Fire trucks, ladder units, and rescue teams filled the surrounding streets as firefighters attempted to stop the fire from spreading to nearby structures.

Local media reports stated that the scale of the fire forced authorities to deploy additional firefighting units as the blaze intensified.

Officials asked residents and drivers to stay away from the area to allow emergency vehicles to move freely. Traffic around the warehouse slowed as crews secured the scene.

Thick smoke from the fire drifted across nearby areas. Residents in surrounding cities such as Miramar and Pembroke Pines also saw the smoke rising in the distance, according to social media claims.

Authorities have not confirmed the cause of the fire. Officials also have not released information about injuries.

Several local residents shared their reactions online as the fire spread.

One Facebook user said a nearby building houses children who were removed from their families and expressed concern for their safety. Another resident wrote that the mayor of Miami Gardens sent out an emergency alert asking people to stay away from the warehouse area.

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More than 200 firefighters are battling a large fire at a six-story warehouse near Miami Gardens on Thursday with hazardous materials reportedly inside. Dozens of units from several departments are on the scene, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.

Firefighters arrived at the warehouse at 20600 NW 47th Ave. after 11 a.m. and encountered heavy smoke and fire, the department said.

The incident was upgraded to a five-alarm fire. MDFR has 48 units on scene, and Miramar is also assisting. The blaze was classified at the highest of the five alarm levels, which function as a communication and battle-strategy system for the fire department.

The higher the alarm the more serious the situation. A one-alarm fire usually denotes a blaze that is in a small, contained area and only needs a few firefighters. A five-alarm fire is declared in the rarest, severest emergencies like large building fires and massive wildfires that need a lot of manpower to put out.

The last blaze of this magnitude was the 2023 Covanta Energy fire at a county-owned waste-to-energy plant in Doral, fire rescue officials said. The fire destroyed the plant, which has yet to be replaced.

READ MORE: Miami-Dade mayor blames operator for incinerator fire, upending fight for a new one

Fire might burn for days

By the time the first crews arrived, the fire had “taken possession of the entire building,” making it too dangerous for them to enter, said Danny Cardeso, deputy fire chief.

Firefighters simultaneously started battling the fire and rescuing some of the workers around the warehouse, which is about three miles west of Hard Rock Stadium.

“The fire quickly escalated to a second, third, and eventually what we’re currently at, a fifth-alarm warehouse fire,” Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Ray Jadallah said in an afternoon press conference

He strongly emphasized the sheer size of the warehouse, which is still burning and is about two times larger than a Costco. Inside were thousands of types of items stored in an open-floor layout.

“The sheer amount of material that’s in there varies,” he said. “There’s thousands of items that are actually carried inside that warehouse; from firewood to astroturf to shampoo to deodorant.”

Fire commanders were heard on radio communications ordering all personnel fighting the blaze to wear air masks because the smoke was contaminated with chemicals.

Jadallah warned the fire might not be put out before sunrise Friday, and maybe into the weekend, due to the blaze causing structural damage.

“There is a possibility of this fire burning for a couple of days as a result of the roof that has collapsed on top of this warehouse,” he said.

The warehouse was an older building made of different materials, including concrete and a sheet metal roof. Jadallah said the materials of the roof allowed the building to be consumed and partially collapse faster. Helicopters were brought in to fight the blaze from above as the situation grew more dangerous on the ground.

Firefighters are also trying to contain the blaze as well as extinguish it before it could possibly extend to open land that is just west of the warehouse and is being watched by the Florida Forest Service. It is still unclear what caused the fire, a question that the Florida Fire Marshal’s Office will be investigating in the coming days.

‘We tried to deal with it’

Jorge Gonzalez just arrived at work when the fire started, and it rapidly grew out of control.

“It was really quick. We tried to deal with it, but it was impossible,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez, 26, has worked at the warehouse for three years, and said the facility stores numerous products, many that are “corrosive and explosive,” he said.

There are several businesses that have that warehouse address. They include Global Warehouse Solutions & 3PL Fulfillment & Drayage Miami and Diamond Windows & Doors.

Dr. Frederica S. Wilson Skyway Elementary School, right across from the warehouse, is vacant and under construction, the Miami-Dade County Public Schools district told the Miami Herald. Students are at another school six minutes east. Neither school is currently affected, the district said.

MDFR is urging people to stay away from the area, especially those with respiratory issues. No injuries have been reported.

Workers stood along Northwest 45th Avenue and were being interviewed by agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Northwest 47th Avenue is closed from 199th to 215th Streets, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said.

The smoke plume created by a massive five-alarm warehouse fire near Miami Gardens on Thursday is moving toward homes and the Everglades, away from airports, the National Weather Service said.

Thursday’s winds are coming to the rescue of many Miami-Dade residents as the gusts were moving west-northwest and taking the smoke plumes away from the vast majority of homes and airports, like Miami International Airport, National Weather Service Senior Forecaster Anthony Reynes told the Miami Herald.

Miami International and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport spokespersons said their airports have not been impacted by the fire.

By 6:30 p.m, winds shifted and were headed west, forecasters say, switching the affected areas from Pembroke Pines, Miramar and Weston, to those directly west of the massive six-story warehouse fire about three miles from Hard Rock Stadium. This included northwest Miami-Dade and parts of Miramar.

This new shift will remain on Thursday, the weather service said.

PurpleAir.com, which has air-quality sensors throughout South Florida, shows the air near Weston in the last hour has on average been heavily polluted, which the site uses EPA metrics to calculate.

“Some members of the general public may experience health effects with 24 hours of exposure; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects,” PurpleAir’s analysis read.

Reynes said rain chances are also low, meaning any sporadic showers that do occur will be insignificant in aiding firefighters as they battle the still raging warehouse fire.

Around 11 a.m., Miami-Dade firefighters began fighting the blaze at 20600 NW 47th Ave. The fire was upgraded to a five-alarm fire and 48 units are trying to put it out, with the addition of helicopters dropping water from above.

The National Weather Service is also recommending at-risk people, such as those with respiratory issues or the elderly, to remain indoors.

MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (CBS12) — Firefighters are battling a large warehouse fire in Miami Gardens on Thursday morning.

According to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, its crews responded to a massive fourth-alarm warehouse fire near the 20600 block of NW 47th Avenue, sending a thick black column of smoke into the sky and prompting officials to warn the public to avoid the area as crews worked to contain the flames.

The fire broke out at Global Warehouse Solutions. Firefighters arrived to find the building heavily engulfed, with smoke visible for miles as the blaze continued to intensify.

According to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, firefighters arrived to find heavy black smoke and flames coming from the warehouse.

Due to structural integrity concerns, defensive operations were initiated, with multiple aerial units attacking the flames from overhead to extinguish the fire.

Due to the need for additional units, the call has been upgraded to a Fifth Alarm fire.

Over 48 MDFR units were on scene around 2 p.m. Thursday, with Miramar Fire Rescue assisting.

Aerial video from our news partners from CBS Miami shows the plumes of smoke coming out of the building.

Crews launched a defensive attack, using aerial water streams to strike the flames from above while ground teams worked to prevent the fire from spreading to neighboring properties. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said people nearby would likely see a “massive plume of thick, black smoke” until the fire was brought under control.

See also: Florida deputies shoot armed person during suspicious-person call, BSO says

As of 2 p.m., no injuries had been reported, and it remained unclear whether anyone had been inside when the fire erupted. Firefighters were expected to remain on scene for several hours due to the size of the structure and the amount of material burning inside. Officials urged drivers and residents to stay away from the area until the response is complete.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — A massive fire that destroyed a northwest Miami-Dade warehouse on Thursday affected people inside and out.

More than 200 firefighters responded to Global Warehouse Solutions, located just outside of Miami Gardens at 20600 NW 47th Ave., where the large blaze sent smoke billowing into the sky.

Nobody was reportedly hurt.

“I grabbed my purse real fast,” Neisha Ridley, who works inside the warehouse, told Local 10 News. “It’s heartbreaking, you know, but I’m sure the owners and all everybody else is heartbroken to see what’s happening here. But it’s just devastating.”

Ridley said the warehouse stored “everything.”

“There were rolls (of artificial turf), elevator parts,” she said. “It’s a whole bunch of different items that we house there.”

Ridley said she’s not sure what the fire means for her livelihood and those of her coworkers.

“First, we have to think about ― we all have life and then we’ll take it from there,” she said.

Another business owner said, “I have two charter busses that (are) parked at the very front of the entrance to the compound there. And then there’s another colleague of mine that has the equipment that’s parked all the way in the back.”

The business owner said at last check, none of his company’s equipment had been affected.

Meanwhile, even those not working at the warehouse had to keep an eye on the blaze.

WATCH: Residents monitor impact

At the Dominican Hair Center in nearby Miami Gardens, Jenni Rivero, who lives nearby, said that “the sky was black” after the fire broke out.

“It was just crazy,” she said.

Miami-Dade’s Department of Environmental Resources Management told Local 10 News that an air quality team “is actively monitoring the situation to determine whether regional air quality has been impacted,” adding that “preliminary readings do not indicate any regional impacts at this time.”

“I have to pick up my grandson who is 4 years old has medical issues, so I have to be very careful,” Rivero said.

Some people received alerts on their cellphones warning those with respiratory issues to shelter in place.

Zeenat Khiyani, of Dollar Plus, said she is grateful that no one was hurt, but said she’s “very concerned about the people around.”

“(It’s) bad for the environment,” she said.

Local 10 News spoke to medical experts Thursday.

“For the most part, it is really -- the people immediately near the fire are the ones who need to be the most concerned about it, the further away you get to less effect it is going to have on you,” Dr. Adam Rubin, an emergency medicine physician with Memorial Healthcare System, said. “People who do have some underlying lung problems, like asthma, will want to be indoors if possible, but for the majority of people it is just going to be an uncomfortable smell, but really should not have any real medical effects.”

Rubin said the key is to stay away from the area.

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