Fire engulfed Sibo s house, press conference with children to thank everyone for their help

At the pre-game press conference between the Heat and the Hornets, Spoelstra attended with his three children and spoke publicly for the first time about the serious fire that engulfed his home in Coral Gables County in the Miami metropolitan area.

Spoelstra did not face the media alone for 105 minutes before the game as he usually does when playing at the Cassia Center. This time he was accompanied by his two sons and young daughter.

He talked about heartache and blessings from the bottom of his heart at the same time.

Spoelstra Statement

"Just wanted to thank everyone for the overwhelming outpouring of support," he said. "The South Florida community has been absolutely phenomenal and people have reached out and wanted to help. This is obviously a unique challenge for our family, but the Spoelstra family is a strong "And, (I) want to thank everyone - the South Florida community, the NBA community, the school community, everyone was so great and it meant so much to our family." He went on to talk about the damage caused by the fire, which included basketball memorabilia from his three-decade NBA career, the past 18 of which were as the Heat's head coach.

"The things in the house, those are replaceable," he said, "and if they can't be replaced, what does it really matter? That's what really matters - family, the people closest to us. Our dog was safe and wasn't in the house at the time, thank God. We just We're grateful that everyone is safe and in a good place." Spoelstra also had other words of gratitude to express, including to Heat president Pat Riley, Heat owner Mitch Arison, CEO Nick Arison and general manager Andy Ellisberger.

"I want to give a big shout out to the first responders, the police officers and the firefighters," he said, "They were awesome. Even though they couldn't save our house, obviously you saw conditions that could have spread to other parts of the community, and they were so kind as they worked to put out all the flames. I'm also grateful to the Heat. Family - Pat, Mitch, Nick, Andy. Everyone contacted me immediately and asked if I needed a few days off.

Return to work

Spoelstra refused to take a vacation, he wanted to be with his beloved team, return to work, and not miss this game, because this is what he and his children share.

Spoelstra said:

"I'm grateful to be able to maintain a routine, and the kids want to come to the game tonight. So I thought, if they want to come to the game, then I'd better come too. Keeping the routine today is good for us. Normalcy is good for them (kids). They have to go to school, right?"

Such witty words made reporters attending the press conference smile.

Spoelstra went on to say:

"We are really grateful to be here (meeting with everyone)."

"I love my job. I love working in this organization, working in this league, and being able to maintain normalcy."

When asked by reporters if he felt that this game day was business as usual, Spoelstra said: "It feels a little bit of everything."

"I mean, you do have to compartmentalize work and life. But obviously it affects our family a lot. But normalcy is good, normalcy is good for the kids. They were really excited to go to school today, right? And I'm excited to be here and get ready for the game."

Spoelstra's jokes continued to keep the atmosphere harmonious.

"The players and staff have been really great and have been reaching out to me [after the fire]. And the players and their partners are even organizing to give you (the kids) some surprises, maybe some toys that were burned in the fire. But they have been awesome and I thank them for allowing us to maintain some normalcy." Not on social media, but my colleagues, my friends are, so I heard about most of it, and it was so emotional (for me) just to think about it, people coming together in our difficult time, and we're really thankful for our safety first, but also to see the human spirit. It was a special sight," Spoelstra continued: "I got greetings from everyone in the NBA, everyone. I haven't had a chance to reply to everyone yet, so I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has thought of us. I've been inundated with emails and texts - from the NBA community, people from other sports, people in Florida, and friends from all over the world. "

"Yes, it's definitely weird and strange to be going through something like this and everyone knows it, but that's life and that's the world."

"Again, I'm not sure. They were really grateful to be safe."

Looking back at the moment of the fire

Regarding the moment when he arrived at his home after returning from Denver at night, I knew they were all with their mother and everyone was safe. So it was just a matter of (loss)."

Fire official report

More than 20 fire rescue forces participated in the firefighting at the Spao home. Fortunately, there were no casualties.

An investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the fire.

The work records of the Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue Team show:

"At 4:36 a.m. local time on November 6, 2025, more than 20 Miami-Dade Fire Rescue forces received a report of a fire incident at a single-family residence. Fire."

"When crews arrived, they found the home fully engulfed in flames, with flames coming from the rear of the structure and visible through the treetops."

"A secondary fire alarm was called in to help extinguish the fire and protect neighboring properties.. "

" A ladder fire truck was used to attack the fire from above. Intense heat and partial roof collapse forced crews to take a defensive approach, fighting the fire from the outside to ensure firefighter safety..."

"No injuries were reported and the home was unoccupied at the time of the fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation.