Homeless Woman Charged In Miami Beach High-Rise Fire

MIAMI BEACH, FL — A 60-year-old homeless woman was charged in an early morning fire that erupted Friday in a Miami Beach high-rise apartment building. A woman fell from a third-floor window as she was trying to make her way to safety and two other people suffered smoke inhalation in the blaze. The building is located at 3621 Collins Avenue along the ocean.

"The subject has been charged with one count of arson," according to Ernesto Rodriguez of the Miami Beach Police Department. Investigators discovered two separate fires at the building, including one in an elevator car and one on the front porch of the building.

Phyllis Carroll was charged with one count of first-degree arson after a witness told police that he saw Carroll lighting the fire on the front porch. Police said Carroll admitted to setting that fire but not the one in the elevator.

"The incident occurred on the porch of the building," Rodriguez said of the woman who was charged. "The fire that occurred within the building remains under investigation."

Rodriguez said the woman who fell from the third floor of the Art Deco structure was attempting to lower herself out of a window using bed linens around 4 a.m. The woman was listed in critical, but stable condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center. The smoke inhalation victims were taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center.

"The Red Cross and fire department are on the scene assisting residents with basic needs until they can be relocated," explained Ernesto Rodriguez of the Miami Beach Police Department, who said that the building has about 30 apartment units.

Rodriguez said that the fire was quickly extinguished by the Miami Beach Fire Department but smoke spread through the building.

"The Red Cross and fire department are on the scene assisting residents with basic needs until they can be relocated," Rodriguez added.

Arson investigators from the Miami Beach police and fire departments were working with the Florida State Fire Marshal’s office and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate.

The Red Cross and Miami Beach Fire Department were assisting residents with basic needs following Friday's early morning fire. Photo courtesy Miami Beach Fire Department.