By FREIDA FRISARO and ALANIS THAMES Associated Press
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A fire at the $6.9 million home owned by Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill was started by a child playing with a cigarette lighter in a bedroom, a fire official said Thursday.
“It was an accidental fire,” Davie Fire Marshal Robert Taylor told The Associated Press.
Taylor did not provide the age of the child, or the amount of damage caused by the fire. He said the investigation is now closed.
The house is located in Southwest Ranches, which is about 30 miles northwest of Miami, and was purchased by Hill in May 2022 shortly after the Kansas City Chiefs traded him to the Dolphins.
Miami television station WSVN showed a large amount of black smoke coming from the roof as firefighters doused the house with water. Firefighters appeared to be working on the highest parts of the structure. Many of the bedrooms, a home theatre and a den were among the rooms upstairs, according to the property listing.
Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told reporters gathered outside the house on Wednesday that some family members were home at the time of the fire.
“He and his family are safe,” Rosenhaus said. “No one was injured No. 1, no pets, so for that, we’re very grateful. We’re very grateful to the firefighters that put the fire out. Thankfully, the fire was contained to a limited area in the home. Obviously, there’ll be some smoke and water damage. It’s very difficult for anybody obviously to have your home catch on fire, but Tyreek was handling it, he and his family, with as much poise as you could hope.”
Hill has not yet commented on the matter and was not at Dolphins practice Thursday.
Hill is currently the NFL’s leader in receiving yards with 1,717. He is the only player in NFL history to record at least 1,700 yards in multiple seasons. He is hoping to help lead the Dolphins to a win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night. A victory would clinch the AFC East for Miami for the first time since 2008.
Hill’s teammates expressed their concern and support for him.
“You don’t think that it’s ever going to happen to you until it does,” fullback Alec Ingold said. “It’s something as a team, we’ve got to be able to come together and make sure that we can reach out to Tyreek and be human beings with him and make sure everything is squared away and we can do everything we possibly can to help our teammate.”
