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Largo Fire Displaces 12

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 11, 2007

LARGO - A suspicious fire broke out at an apartment building this morning, displacing 12 residents, fire officials say.

The blaze at Midtown Plaza apartments, 575 Clearwater Largo Road North, was reported at 3:15 a.m., said Brian Brady, a district chief for Largo Fire Rescue. It apparently started on the ground outside the horseshoe shaped building, between it and a Montessori school next door, and that makes it suspicious, Brady said.

Somehow the fire spread to the apartment at the end of the south leg of the horseshoe, got up in the apartment's overhang and started spreading through the attic, Brady said. But firefighters sprayed water on it within five minutes of receiving the call and limited fire damage to that one apartment, he said.

This was something of an accomplishment because the building was constructed before the requirement for firewalls between units, Brady said.

The apartment next to the one heavily damaged, and three others down the leg of the horseshoe, had smoke damage, Brady said. All five were deemed uninhabitable. The dozen or so other apartments in the building were not affected.

Brady said the roof trusses in the heavily damaged apartment might collapse, causing the common roof over the other four apartments to collapse as well in a domino effect.

The vinyl siding on the Montessori school had some damage, as did the school's playground, but the school was expected to be open today, Brady said.

Of the 12 people displaced at the apartment building, six had someplace to stay and another six were to be placed by the American Red Cross, Brady said.

A person who lives in one of the apartments not affected by the fire was transported to a hospital, but the person's ailment was unrelated to the fire, he said.

The fire was under investigation, and no damage estimate was available.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 415-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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