Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
Fire displaces seven residents
A fire at a South Tampa apartment complex sets off two boxes of ammunition the resident had in his apartment. Officials don't know what started the blaze.
By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published March 3, 2006
TAMPA - The people living in a South Tampa apartment complex survived a fire Thursday morning, but one of the four-legged residents did not.
Minnie, a 6-year-old beagle who lived in Apartment 4 of the Oasis at SoHo apartments, 1406 S Lorenzo Ave., died.
Minnie's owner, John Zalewski, was taken to Tampa General Hospital with minor burns and smoke inhalation, said Tampa Fire Rescue Capt. Bill Wade.
Zalewski, 41, told firefighters that he was doing laundry and other chores inside his apartment shortly before 9:30 a.m. when he started to feel hot.
He turned toward the living room and saw smoke and flames.
Zalewski grabbed fire extinguishers from the apartment complex property, but the fire was already too strong, Wade said.
Zalewski ran out of the apartment and called for help.
The blaze set off two boxes of ammunition that Zalewski had in the apartment, Wade said.
When the ammunition started popping, residents who called 911 reported that they heard gunfire.
"Not only are the firefighters worried about the apartment burning around them, they think bullets could be flying," Wade said. "It's very challenging."
Firefighters got the blaze under control within 30 minutes.
The fire marshal's office had not determined a cause, Wade said.
Zalewski's apartment was destroyed and three others rendered uninhabitable by water and smoke.
The damage estimate: at least $100,000.
The American Red Cross is helping the seven displaced residents with shelter.
Tonya Kamoroff lives in the apartment above Zalewski's.
Everything she owns is in the apartment, and she has no renter insurance. But as firefighters went up against the flames Thursday, she was most worried about Princess, her boyfriend's chihuahua.
"I was so scared she was dead," Kamoroff said.
Firefighters eventually found Princess hiding in the kitchen.
Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at 813 226-3373 or svansickler@sptimes.com
[Last modified March 3, 2006, 02:15:34]
Share your thoughts on this story
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Email editor
