Fire evacuates downtown Tampa building

Saturday, March 3, 2007

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The fire broke out on the in the Tampa Baptist Manor building in downtown Tampa.

An apartment fire in a building in downtown Tampa caused an evacuation Saturday morning.

A small fire broke out around 10 a.m. in an apartment at the Tampa Baptist Manor building on Grand Central Avenue.

The building, a senior citizen facility, was evacuated briefly as firefighters responded to the scene.

According to Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Capt. Bill Wade, the blaze began when a 98-year-old woman in apartment 1006 left a plastic container on her stove.

"It appears she left the container on the stove and it melted, causing a small fire in the kitchen,'' said Wade. "It filled the apartment with smoke and it was still full of smoke when the firefighters arrived. They brought her out and put out the fire.''

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The woman was taken to Tampa General hospital as a precaution but was said to be awake, alert and not injured. No other injuries were reported, said Wade.

The evacuation was an orderly process, thanks to regular drills at the building, Wade added. The building, which is 12 stories and houses several hundred people, regular schedules emergency drills.

Most of the residents evacuated orderly when the fire alarms sounded, according to Wade.

Fire investigator estimated the damage to the apartment to be around $5,000. The investigation kept residents out of their homes for only a short time, Wade said, before they were allowed back in the building.