Miami — with her three children, miami Coach Erik Spoelstra spoke publicly Friday for the first time since a fire destroyed his residence and expressed appreciation for the “absolutely remarkable” outpouring of support in the aftermath.
Spoelstra’s home was destroyed in a fire that broke out around 4:30 a.m. Thursday. Their children, Santiago, Dante and Ruby, were at their mother’s house at the time and were not injured in the fire.
“Things we have at home, those things can be changed,” Spoelstra said before the Miami game. charlotte hornets“And if they can’t be replaced, what difference does it really make? That’s what really matters. The family, the people closest, our dog was also safe, thank God. We’re just grateful. We’re grateful that everyone is safe and in a good place.”
The Heat won the game 126-108And then, that’s when the magnitude of that moment began to sink in for Spoelstra.
“Right now, after the game, it hit me. I just want to go home,” Spoelstra said in his post-game press conference. “My children, we are taken care of. I will visit them tonight. But in an ideal world, I would love to go home.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Spoelstra said the Heat offered him a few days off to deal with personal matters, and he refused.
“The kids wanted to come to the game tonight,” Spoelstra said. “So, I thought if they wanted to get into the game, I better get the job done.”
Spoelstra was on a plane flying home from a Wednesday night game with the Heat in Denver when the fire broke out. County records show the fire was reported about 4:36 a.m. Thursday and Heat Charter landed in Miami about 35 minutes later.
When Spoelstra arrived at his home, several fire engines were at the scene. He was seen wandering around the outside of the property before dawn, occasionally stopping and holding his head in apparent disbelief as flames rose in the darkness.
“I want to thank the first responders, the police officers and firefighters. They were amazing,” Spoelstra said. “They weren’t able to save our house, but obviously, we saw things that could have spread to the rest of the neighborhood. They were very compassionate when they were trying to put out all the fires.”
Spoelstra said the Heat family has offered support, and the wives and girlfriends of some of the team’s players are already busy trying to help the children — who normally went to school Friday — with a surprise or two.
“Probably some toys that were lost in the house,” Spoelstra said. “They’ve been amazing.”
Drone footage showed that most of the house was reduced to burnt debris. Some teams remained at the scene monitoring the hotspot till Thursday afternoon, about eight hours after the fire was reported.
“Ladder trucks were used to attack the fire from above,” Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said in a news release. “Due to the extreme heat and partial collapse of the roof, crews were forced to adopt a defensive approach and fight the fire from the outside to ensure the safety of firefighters. …The cause of the fire is under investigation.”
Spoelstra, who has been with the Heat since 1995 and head coach since 2008, purchased the five-bedroom home in December 2023. He had extensive work done on the property after purchase.
He finalized a deal last month to serve as coach of the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
“I just want to thank everyone for this tremendous support,” Spoelstra said, with his sons on either side of him and his daughter in his arms as he spoke. “The South Florida community has been absolutely remarkable. People are reaching out, wanting to help. This is obviously something that’s uniquely challenging for our family, but the Spoelstras are resilient.”
