 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Lightning likely cause of apartment fire
By CHRIS TISCH CLEARWATER -- The pieces of tabletop coral that Carol Doran dove 110 feet into the Pacific Ocean to pluck are gone.
Doran, 48, was one of 25 Imperial Gardens residents who could only wonder what had been left of their homes after a roaring fire tore through their apartment building at 2100 Nursery Road on Wednesday evening, making each of its 20 units uninhabitable. "This is a whole life," Doran said. "Boom. Gone." Fire investigators determined the cause of the blaze was electrical. An outlet on Doran's bedroom wall blasted out of the wall sometime Wednesday. Sparks and heat of up to 7,000 degrees caught the bedroom on fire, and the blaze swelled and ripped through the two-story building. "The plug burned out and ignited all the adjacent, normal combustibles," said Dave Kessinger, assistant chief for prevention for the Clearwater Fire Department. About a half-dozen units were destroyed by fire. Several more suffered heavy smoke damage. And others were sopped with firefighters' water, bittered with the smell of smoke or had holes punched into their roof by firefighters searching for more flames. The ultimate culprit in the fire is "very likely" to have been a lightning strike, Kessinger said. But investigators won't know for sure until a number of tests are completed. Doran, who was praying that a mistake on her part didn't cause the fire, said she didn't have a surge protector in her bedroom, but did have one for her computer. It wouldn't have mattered: If it was lightning, the electricity blasts through a surge protector like tissue paper, Kessinger said. Fire officials said the total damage could be up to $2-million. Amazingly, no one was injured. And except for a cat that had some singed paws, no pets were believed to have been hurt. Only a handful of the residents had insurance. Though they remained shocked by their losses Thursday, many were amazed by the support and help of others. Two neighbors, Katherine Barrett and Buck Stevenson, saw the fire in its infancy and knocked on doors to get everyone out. Residents on Thursday called them heroes. On Thursday, the pair asked that other people donate to the victims. Then there was the pizza shop, Monty's, that sent a half-dozen free pies to the complex. Other residents brought by sandwiches and other things to help. The American Red Cross found hotel rooms for six families. Others stayed with family or friends. Red Cross workers also counseled victims and fanned out to pharmacies to fill prescriptions for those whose medicines had burned. They also were providing food and clothing. Police officers guarded the complex all night so no one could steal anything. And after Red Cross workers found a hotel for the victims, officials with Imperial Gardens offered to pay for the rooms. They will continue to do so until those residents find housing, said property manager Frank Sava. "We're going to put everybody up," Sava said. "We told everyone we want them back." Sava also was busy Thursday finding permanent housing for residents. He reserved all available units in other buildings of his 240-unit complex for the residents. Another complex, Imperial Palms, also called to offer their open units, Sava said. "I think people are inherently good," Doran said. Firefighters were called to the blaze about 5:45 p.m., but Doran didn't find out about it until she arrived home from work as a security screener at Tampa International Airport just after 10 p.m. Her unit, where the fire ignited, was the worst. "I could see it was pretty gutted," said Doran, who moved to Florida from Indianapolis in August to be close to her mother. Her 16-year-old daughter, Elyse, lives there, too. On Thursday morning, she stood just below the black and charred hole that was her second-floor apartment. The singed metal skeleton of a mattress lay on the grass. So did her ironing board. Doran thought of her Japanese china and her rosewood table and buffet from Hong Kong. She bought them while she was in the Navy. She and her sister both served. So did her father, who died seven years ago. They were close. Many of her links to him also were torched. Home movies. Photographs. The large seashell he claimed from the Pacific. Others were more fortunate, particularly those living in units on the ground floor. The units were still-lifes, moments frozen in time for residents who dashed out to safety, leaving dishes on the table and in the sink. "Relatively speaking, I came out pretty good," said Jack Hively, 74, whose first-floor apartment suffered only water damage. He was impressed that firefighters took his photos off the wall, pushed his furniture together and covered them with a tarp. The building was equipped with what is known as smoke protector in the attic. It's flat piece of drywall, about 5/8 of an inch thick, which does not burn. It prevents smoke from spreading. It isn't so good at stopping fire. It was installed when the building was erected about 35 years ago. At that time, having smoke protectors was the only requirement in the fire codes. The building was in compliance with codes because of the time it was built, Kessinger said. Now, fire protectors -- which are about twice as thick -- are required for buildings like this. That will be required if the building is rebuilt, Kessinger said. With nothing really stopping the fire, flames swept north into the attics of other units. Complex managers allowed residents into their units Thursday afternoon to grab what they could. Sava said he hoped some residents could move back shortly, but it was unknown if the less-damaged units could be salvaged. He said either way, it will be rebuilt. In the meantime, Red Cross officials said folks who want to help can drop off monetary or material donations at the complex.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times North Pinellas desks |
