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Home Fires Kindle Concern

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 4, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - Curtistine Wilson, a 30-year-old single mother, remembers the day in August when she came home and found the house on fire.

Wilson lost furniture, televisions, clothes, food, her children's PlayStation.

"Everything," she said.

Since then, it has occurred to her that there seem to be quite a few fires in St. Petersburg.

"I see a lot of firetrucks," Wilson said from her new home this week. "A lot of houses have burned down."

She might be on to something.

This week, the local chapter of the American Red Cross released a map of the locations of house fires where the organization's help was requested. It shows St. Petersburg has more house fires than anywhere else in the Tampa Bay area.

Abi Weaver, spokeswoman for the chapter, said the data show Red Cross volunteers have responded to 43 house fires in Pinellas County in the past three months, compared with 30 in Hillsborough County and 14 in Pasco County.

Of the 43 in Pinellas, the map shows 16 in St. Petersburg within a four-mile radius. One of the fires was at Wilson's house, at 3920 Whiting St. S.E., Coquina Key, Weaver and fire officials said. Tampa had 22 fires within a 20-mile radius, she said.

The organization is asked to respond to roughly 90 percent of the fires in the area, Weaver said.

Lt. Joel Granata, spokesman for St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue, said his agency is aware of the Red Cross' figures.

"We don't find that's too surprising, because we are the busiest fire department in the county," he said.

Still, his agency has begun analyzing the pattern detected by the Red Cross.
Firefighters routinely go into neighborhoods and conduct smoke alarm campaigns, but if it's discovered some areas need that kind of attention again, they will get it, Granata said.

See the map of house fires at www.tinyurl.com/4zd32h.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

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