Apartment fire displaces 14 people

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Tampa Fire Rescue responded to a fire at the Riverside Palms apartments near Temple Crest shortly before 7 p.m.

Firefighters found heavy smoke coming from one of the two-story, four-unit apartment buildings at 5005 Castile Place.

Firefighters had difficulty locating the source of the fire because it had spread in the wall between two of the apartments.

According to the property manager, workers were performing welding work in a vacant unit.

Investigators from the Fire Marshal's office are working to determine whether a stray ember from the welding torch caused the fire after the workers left.

The neighbor in an adjacent apartment saw the smoke and called 911.

All four units sustained smoke damage.

The 14 residents in the three adjacent occupied units have all been displaced and Red Cross has been
notified.

There were no injuries to residents, firefighters or pets reported.