Two-alarm fire forces building evacuation

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

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A two-alarm fire caused evacuations at a St. Petersburg assisted living facility Monday.

Dozens of St. Petersburg assisted living facility residents are back in their rooms after a fire scare Monday evening.

After a two-alarm fire started near the MLF Towers on Second Avenue South, the situation was quickly resolved thanks to emergency personnel already at the building.

The fire, which began in a trash chute and continued in a Dumpster by the building, was extinguished by firefighters called to the scene by the crews already there.

Two-Alarm Blaze

Trash fire

"Our crews were here working on a patient unrelated to the fire event, the alarm was activated and our crews stepped out in the hallway and could smell smoke and went to the trash chute and determined there was some type of fire in the trash chute and they called in the fire response as well,'' said Lieutenant Rick Feinberg with St. Petersburg Fire Rescue.

"Once our crews got on scene, we were able to go out back and pull the Dumpster out and obviously start to work on the ventilation as well."

The building was evacuated and there were no injuries. There initially was concern with the smoke on the upper floors because of the elderly residents, but order was quickly restored.