Fire began in bed, officials say

A disabled Largo man is still hospitalized in serious condition after an apartment fire Sunday night.

By JANE MEINHARDT

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 7, 2000

LARGO -- Investigators determined Tuesday that a fire that injured a disabled man and left nine Largo apartments uninhabitable started in the man's bed.

Largo District fire Chief Pat McGinley said the source of the blaze is still under investigation.

Officials also found that the fire alarm system at Golf Terrace apartments was operational when the fire began at 10:45 p.m. Sunday.

Firefighters pulled Bernard Thomas, 71, from his burning apartment.

He was in serious condition Tuesday at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg with respiratory problems and minor burns.

The fire started in Thomas' bed, but he was found unconscious on the living room floor. Thomas, who previously had both legs amputated, uses a motorized wheelchair, McGinley said.

Investigators have been unable to talk to Thomas about the fire because of his condition.

The fire caused extensive structural damage to his ground-floor apartment in the three-story building at 2045 East Bay Drive.

The ceiling sagged, causing the floor of the apartment above to sink. Officials declared nine nearby apartments unsafe.

McGinley said engineers shored up the sagging bedroom ceiling to allow investigators to examine the fire scene.

Some residents of the complex complained that the fire alarm system did not go off.

They were correct, but the alarm was not activated, he said.

"It was functioning, and it meets the fire code," McGinley said. "It was simply that no one pulled the alarm. It's not an automatic alarm. You have to pull the alarm at the boxes."

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