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West Tampa Couple Escapes Early Morning Blaze

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Shortly after 2 a.m., Tampa Fire Rescue responded to a house fire in the 1900 block of W. Cherry Street.

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By HOWARD ALTMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 14, 2009

A West Tampa couple escaped an early morning fire that destroyed two homes and damaged another, according to Tampa Fire Rescue.

No residents or firefighters were injured, but the couple, who managed to escape thanks to a knock on the door, is now homeless.

Firefighters battling the blaze had to back off temporarily when the fire spread to a power line, which fell on a fire hose.

According to a media release:

Shortly after 2 a.m., Tampa Fire Rescue responded to a house fire in the 1900 block of W. Cherry Street. At 2:23 a.m., fire crews reported a single story wood-frame house to be well involved in fire and the house next door also in flames. As fire crews were advancing their first hose lines to try and stop the fire spread, a power line fell onto the hose. The hose was damaged by the power line, causing fire crews to move out of the way and get a new fire hose. Workers from Tampa Electric arrived on scene about 20 minutes later and shut off the downed power line.

It took about 40 minutes to bring the flames under control.

A Tampa Fire Marshals Office investigator has determined that a married couple Gloria Milligan, 56, and Major Milligan, 82, were asleep inside their longtime residence at 1920 W Cherry St. Someone pounding on the front door woke them up because the house next door at 1916 W Cherry St. was on fire.

The Milligans exited safely.

The fire started at 1916 W Cherry St., which has been vacant but new tenants were scheduled to move in soon.

Both 1916 and 1920 Cherry St. were destroyed. A vacant house at 1912 Cherry St. had minor damage from the radiant heat of the fire. Fire crews managed to protect the occupied house at 1922 Cherry St. from suffering any damage.

Houses in this area are separated by only a few feet of space.

The fire cause remains under investigation. No loss estimate is yet available.

Tampa Fire Rescue responded to this two-alarm fire with seven fire engines, three rescue cars, two ladder trucks and a few chief officers. An estimated 43 responders were on scene from fire stations in West Tampa, Hilldale, Downtown, Hyde Park, Robles Park, Westshore and Palma Ceia

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