Miami-Dade County Update on Waste-to-Energy Facility Fire

As Miami-Dade County continues to respond to the fire at the waste-to-energy facility in Doral, the latest updates and guidance for residents are below. 

MDFR first responders are working tirelessly to put out the blaze, continuing to gain greater access in order to extinguish the remaining fire, and smoke levels continue to decrease.

Based on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidance, we recommend that residents experiencing smoky conditions remain indoors particularly during the evening and at night; during the cooler night-time hours, wind slows down and the smoke remains lower to the ground. Anyone with preexisting respiratory and cardiac conditions, as well as older adults, young children, and expectant mothers, should take extra precautions, such as wearing a mask if you need to be outdoors. We recommend running your air conditioning at home to re-circulate air in your house, and changing your air filter more frequently than usual. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was on the ground from Monday to Saturday working hand in hand with Miami-Dade County teams to monitor air quality within the facility and surrounding area. Per EPA protocol, monitoring will now shift from the EPA to an independent environmental response contractor – CTEH – which is now providing air quality summary reports available here. Air monitoring data will be provided and distributed by CTEH moving forward. 

Miami-Dade County is coordinating directly with the EPA and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Chris Ghaemmaghaghami of Jackson Health System to review the reports and provide updated recommendations to residents. 

The full environmental reports and the latest updates and information can be found here: miamidade.gov/wastefire.  

City of Doral parks are open today and will close at sunset. Doral residents will continue to receive additional communications through the County's emergency text messaging service and from the City of Doral.