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12 Lose Homes In Suspicious Apartment Fire In Largo

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 12, 2007

LARGO - A suspicious fire broke out at an apartment building Tuesday 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. The fire appeared to start on the ground outside the horseshoe-shaped building, and that makes it suspicious, Brady said.

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

That was something of an accomplishment, because the building was constructed before firewalls were required between units, Brady said.

Four units - the one adjacent to the heavily damaged apartment 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 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 in a domino effect.
Vinyl siding on a Montessori school next door had some damage, as did the school's playground, but the school was expected to reopen, Brady said.

Of the 12 people displaced at the apartment building, six had someplace to stay and another six were receiving assistance from the American Red Cross, Brady said.

A person who lives in an apartment not affected by the fire was taken to a hospital with problems 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) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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