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Quick work by two men helps clear out the apartment complex on N Dale Mabry Highway.
By JOSH ZIMMER and MICHAEL SANDLER
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 21, 2001
TAMPA -- Jaime Frangie was lounging in his apartment Tuesday afternoon when he smelled smoke and looked out to see a raging fire.
He dialed 911, found his brother-in-law, and the two began knocking on doors, yelling at neighbors to get out.
Everyone escaped unharmed, but the fire at the Foxcroft apartments on N Dale Mabry Highway destroyed 16 units and left about 20 people homeless.
"All I know is someone knocked on my door, and I smelled something burning," said Ella McKnight.
A tower of black smoke could be seen from Davis Islands to Carrollwood as dozens of firefighters fought the blaze about 2:30 p.m.
Once the flames were extinguished, investigators found the cause, a pot unattended on the stove of a second-floor apartment.
"A classic example -- textbook -- of a pot left on the stove," said Ray Yeakley, a spokesman for Hillsborough Fire Rescue.
The wood building had no sprinkler system but did have smoke alarms that alerted some residents.
Frangie and his brother-in-law, Johnny Giraldo, said the fire was out of control when they saw it.
"I saw flames on all sides," said Giraldo, 23, who recently moved to the United States from Colombia and lost his work visa in the fire. "I'm all right, but everything has burned. My papers, my passport, everything."
Frangie made sure to alert roofers laying shingles on the building, one of many in the complex. Luckily, he spoke their language.
"He yelled, it's burning, get down," Jose Aguilar said in Spanish.
Outside the charred building, residents cried and sought solace from friends and family members.
James Mountain, an assisted living resident on the first floor, walked away from his gutted home clutching a small cage with his meowing cat, Smokey.
The Red Cross began assisting residents, offering temporary housing, clothing, food and medication.
"Right now we are going to take care of their immediate needs and make sure they have a place to stay," Red Cross spokeswoman Janet McGuire said.
For the Shah's, tragedy has struck twice in a matter of weeks.
The family lost close friends in the earthquake that hit northwest India last month, Smita Shah said. Her daughter, Binita Shah, had just prepared cereal for her grandson, 7-year-old Kashish, when someone knocked on the door yelling "fire."
Shah, a United States resident for 12 years, said she and her husband spent a lot of money helping their daughter get settled in Tampa, buying furniture and assisting with the down payment on a car.
At this point, they are out of funds. Now, after about 6 months in the complex, their daughter and son-in-law must start from scratch.
"It's so sad," she said.