Pompano Beach warehouse fire contained after burning building near homes; no injuries reported

A warehouse fire in Pompano Beach burned a whole building on Saturday, with firefighters from multiple agencies spending several hours to get the blaze under control. 

The fire started before 6 p.m. at the building located along North Dixie Highway and Northwest 15th Street, according to Pompano Beach Fire Rescue. The fire department said that it quickly grew, sending large columns of smoke into the air. 

Battalion Chief Rob Weihs said crews faced a tough fight from the start.

"We had some challenges getting to the fire, deep-seated fire inside the building," Weihs said.

It took a significant response to bring it down.

"It was a three-alarm fire; we had more than 30 units here, multiple agencies," Weihs said.

Charles Philone said he rented space in the building for his import-export business, where he stored merchandise bound for Haiti. He learned about the fire by phone.

"By 5:30, six o'clock, somebody called to tell me the building caught fire," Philone said.

He said he lost everything inside.

"I lost so much things," Philone said. "Total loss: two units [in the] warehouse."

Despite the size of the fire, no firefighters or civilians were injured, Pompano Beach Fire said.

"There were no civilians, nobody trapped in the building," Weihs said. "We ended up finally getting it down, knocking the fire down took a couple of hours to really get to it."

The warehouse sits about 100 yards from single-family homes and apartments. Fire officials said crews mobilized quickly to make sure the fire did not spread to nearby residences.

Units remained on scene overnight to watch for any rekindling. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Meanwhile, businesses were boarded up on Sunday after the fire. Tim Williams had to go through what's left of his power washer business.

"It's damaged," he said. "There's nothing I can do."

He spoke to CBS News Miami as he removed whatever wasn't claimed by the flames.

"I had to start over again. Gotta just take it in stride. Take losses. I can't do nothing about it," Williams said.

The fire damaged seven different units at the complex. Williams said he and his cousin, who hauls for a living, will need to clean his unit up.