Two house fires Sunday afternoon on East 17th Avenue are being called arson, according to the Tampa Fire Marshal's Office.
Firefighters arrived at the scene and found both wood-frame homes - 1519 E. 17th Ave. and 1521 E. 17th Ave. - engulfed in thick flames, said Capt. Bill Wade, of Tampa Fire Rescue.
The fire started on the outside of the house at 1521 E. 17th Ave, Fire Rescue said.
Fire losses are estimated to be $75,000 for the house at 1521 and at least $150,000 for the building at 1519 E. 17th Ave.
Firefighters protected and saved Tommy's Wholesale, located at 1517 E. 17th Ave., from being damaged by the fire, Wade said.
The property at 1519 had boarded windows, but it is used by Tommy's Wholesale as offices and refrigeration storage. The property at 1521 is vacant, Wade said.
One firefighter was transported to a local hospital with heat exhaustion and a second was taken to the hospital for a back injury.
The fires will be investigated as possibly connected to a string of 22 suspicious or arson fires in the V.M. Ybor area since January 2009, officials said.
Anyone with information on the fires can call the fire marshal's office at (813) 274-7133, leave a tip online at www.tampagov.net/fire or call the Florida Advisory Committee on Arson Prevention, at (877) NO-ARSON (662-7766).
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement
Advertisement