Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra grateful for support after fire destroys home

MIAMI AP Flanked by his three children Miami coach Erik Spoelstra spoke publicly Friday for the first time since fire burned down his residence and expressed appreciation for what he described as absolutely remarkable endorsement in the aftermath Spoelstra s home was destroyed by a blaze that broke out sometime around a m Thursday His children Santiago Dante and Ruby were at their mother s home at the time and nobody was injured in the blaze Things in the house those things can be replaced Spoelstra mentioned before Miami s championship with the Charlotte Hornets And if they can t be replaced what does it really matter This is really what matters Family the closest ones our dog also was safe thank God We re just grateful We re grateful that everybody is safe and in a great place The cause of the fire remains under examination Spoelstra reported the Heat offered him a insufficient days off if he needed to deal with personal matters and he declined The kids desired to come to the event tonight Spoelstra mentioned So I figured if they want to come to the encounter then I d better work Spoelstra was on an airplane when the fire started flying home with the Heat from a Wednesday night tournament in Denver The fire was called in around a m Thursday county records demonstrated and the Heat charter landed in Miami about minutes later Multiple fire trucks were at the fully involved scene when Spoelstra arrived at his home He was seen walking around the outside of the property in the pre-dawn hours sometimes stopping and holding his head in apparent disbelief as flames shot into the darkness I want to give a shoutout to the first responders the police officers and the firemen They were amazing Spoelstra revealed They weren t able to save our house but obviously we ve seen things that could have spread to the rest of the neighborhood They were very kind while they were trying to put out all the flames Spoelstra disclosed the Heat family have all offered encouragement and that even specific of the wives and girlfriends of players on the crew are already busy trying to help the kids who went to school as normal on Friday with a surprise or two Possibly specific toys that were lost in the house Spoelstra noted They ve been amazing Drone footage displayed that much of the home was reduced to charred rubble Selected crews remained on the scene monitoring hotspots until early Thursday afternoon about eight hours after the fire was called in Ladder trucks were used to attack the fire from above Miami-Dade Fire Rescue noted in a news release The intense heat and a partial roof collapse forced crews to take a defensive approach fighting the fire from the outside to ensure firefighter safety The cause of the fire is under inquiry Spoelstra who has been with the Heat since and head coach since bought the five-bedroom home in December He had done extensive work to the property following the purchase He finalized a deal last month to serve as coach of the U S Olympic men s basketball band at the Los Angeles Games I just want to thank everybody for this overwhelming help Spoelstra reported with his sons on either side of him as he spoke and his daughter in his lap The South Florida society has just been absolutely remarkable People reaching out wanting to help It s obviously been something that s uniquely challenging for our family but Spoelstras are resilient AP NBA https apnews com hub nba Source