Over 100 firefighters fight blaze at St. Pete storage facility
Crews battle large fire at storage facility
More than 100 firefighters worked to put out a fire at a St. Petersburg commercial storage facility on Tuesday afternoon. FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis reports.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - More than 100 firefighters worked to put out a fire at a St. Petersburg commercial storage facility on Tuesday afternoon.
What we know:
The fire started around 3 p.m. at Ocal Storage, located at 3160 Morris Street North in St. Petersburg.
St. Pete Fire Rescue told FOX 13 that nobody was in the building when they arrived.
The storage facility has a total of 30 units, with 15 in the front and 15 in the back.
Courtesy: St. Petersburg Fire Rescue
Firefighters said the fire started in the middle of the building, adding that the fire is difficult to fight because the units are unregulated, meaning anything can be stored inside. A spokesperson with St. Pete Fire Rescue said that firefighters have found propane tanks, acetylene tanks and two forklifts with fuel.
St. Petersburg Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Brett Ciskoski also called it a complex fire to battle because of the age of the structure and windy conditions on Tuesday. He said many of the items inside units are total losses from fire, smoke and water damage.
Firefighters are expected to stay at the storage facility through the night, fighting some remaining hot spots.
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Motorists are being asked to avoid the area and St. Petersburg police will be directing traffic.
What they're saying:
Brian Sabo has rented two units in the facility for the past 10 years to store items for his balloon business.
"Materials, supplies, frames and just stuff I do for my balloon business," he said. "It definitely could have been a whole lot worse. There could have been people involved. Materials are materials. They can be replaced."
Sabo's son arrived at the scene before him.
"It was bad. I mean smoke plumes were really bad, they were cutting the doors open, and my one unit was just complete…I mean all you saw was flames," he said.
What we don't know:
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Ciskoski said it started toward the middle of the structure, with 3 to 4 units involved on both sides.
The Source: This article was written with information provided by St. Petersburg Fire Rescue and information gathered by FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis at the scene.