FIRE at 914 4th Avenue North

Just got back from the scene and the aftermath. I picked up on the news by my feed from the PB Post that you can find about halfway down the page on the right hand side. I posted the link to the article below and decided to take my camera and check it out.

The property is just west of the alley from Lupita's at 4th Avenue North and Dixie Hwy. Here is what I first saw as I got out of the car.

From what I could tell, there were two people in the building at the time, one male and one female in separate units. The man I knew from the Mad Hatter and friends Dale and Terry were there already making sure their friend was o.k. The Red Cross was there too and they will give temporary aid for a few days. Both tenants had cats and the animals were safely rescued.



WPBF was there as well and interviewing the firefighters and investigators. Apparently, a representative from the State Fire Marshal's office had already visited the site and it is likely a case of arson. The fire started in the downstairs apartment. The guy upstairs heard noise from downstairs just before the fire began and heard "sloshing" of some liquid. The female tenant smelled gasoline right before the fire started - sometime after 5 a.m. this morning. According to accounts, the tenants of the downstairs apartment were a source of trouble and hadn't been seen in a while.


Above: one of the rescued felines in the travel cage along with one of our firefighters. Below are views of the north side of the building. I was offered a chance to go in the upstairs apartment, but declined.


Other notes: There are no historic districts on the west side of Dixie Hwy. Sneakers has cameras mounted outside the building that might have captured some of what happened. The Fire Department responded quickly. Remember to make sure you have a working fire/smoke detector - especially if you rent!


I tired to pull up the property appraiser's data for this property and couldn't find the address on 4th Avenue North. If you have better luck, print the card to a .pdf file and forward it to me. Thanks.

Please include the people affected by this fire in your thoughts and prayers.