Arson Tampa Fire

Latest blaze at troubled apartment complex ruled
arson
Tampa Fire Rescue

A three-alarm fire was reported Monday morning at the Waterman's Crossing
apartment complex, 4515 N. Rome Ave., in Tampa.
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By NEIL JOHNSON and KEITH MORELLI
The Tampa Tribune
Published: August 3, 2009
Updated: 08/03/2009 04:41 pm
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TAMPA - A fire that raged through an apartment complex building this morning was
arson, investigators said, the second in less than a month at Waterman's Crossing.
The fire started in a vacant apartment next to an empty apartment where another fire
was intentionally set July 9.
Tampa Fire Rescue Capt. Bill Wade said he did not know whether there's a
connection between the two fires.
The latest blaze caused much more damage, estimated at $500,000, and left 18
units destroyed or damaged and more than 50 residents displaced, Wade said. No
injuries were reported.
The American Red Cross reported it had helped provided food and clothing to 15
families.
Immediately after the fire, frustrated residents complained the alarm systems failed.
But a maintenance worker who ran through the burning building banging on doors to
rouse residents and pulling alarms said the alarms did work. A city code
enforcement officer confirmed the alarms were working in the complex's common
areas.
Firefighters needed about 45 minutes to knock down the worst of the flames at the
complex at 4514 N. Rome Ave., just north of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
The alarm came in at 8:20 a.m.
Flames were showing through the roof of a three-story building, leaping 50 feet into
the air, when the first of about 60 firefighters and 20 pieces of equipment responded
to what became a three-alarm fire, Wade said.
Wade said the fire was in Building G, which has 36 apartments, 25 of which were
occupied. Apartment managers and the American Red Cross are working to find
housing for displaced residents.
Four units were a total loss, two others had smoke and fire damage and 14 more
had water damage.
The roof of an adjacent building had heat and fire damage, but firefighters arrived
just in time to keep the building from catching fire, Wade said.
"We knocked on doors and made sure everybody got out," maintenance worker
Jerry Thompson said. "The alarms went off and that helped."
But two residents said they didn't hear alarms.
"I was in bed asleep," said Kentral Sampson, who moved into the complex in
February. She said her sister woke her and told her there was a fire in their building.
"There was no alarm at all.
"My whole apartment is caved in," she said. "I work hard. I'm pretty sure I lost
everything. I have nothing left at all."
Priscilla Carrodegua also lives in the building.
"The fire alarms didn't go off," she said.
A fire at the complex in September revealed numerous violations, including many
apartments without working smoke alarms and holes in firewalls between
apartments. That fire was caused by a candle that was knocked over.
The complex hired fire inspectors to work at night and alert residents if a fire broke
out until repairs were made, a step also taken in 2007 when the complex faced
similar problems.
There also was a fire in November caused by an electrical short that caused about
$20,000 damage to a vacant unit.
The most recent fire marshal's inspection, on Dec. 30, found no fire code violations.
The fire in July, also ruled arson, caused about $25,000 damage. Previous code
violations had been fixed and smoke alarms were working at the time, officials said.
City code enforcement officer Jack Ciucio said none of the open code enforcement
cases at Waterman's Crossing involves fire safety. There are some open complaints
about issues such as leaks and toilets.
"They are normal apartment problems," Ciucio said.
Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at (813) 259-7731.
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Reader Comments
Voice your opinion by posting a comment.
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Posted by ( RRR ) on 08/03/2009 at 09:02 am.
Repeated violations? Someone with testicles should use them and arrest the owners
for these violations. Hold them for 2-3 days in the lockup, post their names and
faces, make a big deal out of it (which it is).
Report Inappropriate Comments
Posted by ( firewalker ) on 08/03/2009 at 09:13 am.
"A fire marshal's report Dec. 30 noted that all problems had been solved."No need to
arrest anyone.
Posted by ( slappy ) on 08/03/2009 at 09:32 am.
I have been at those apartments before and it seems to me that all that is there is
trailer trash.
Posted by ( Jsmooth529 ) on 08/03/2009 at 10:18 am.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by ( cocotampa ) on 08/03/2009 at 10:42 am.
sounds like the owner just wants these apartments gone .
Posted by ( Old_Crusty ) on 08/03/2009 at 10:48 am.
10:48AM, Slappy, you don't like homeless people, trailer parks, and now apartment
renters. Where DO you live? Next door to Derek Jeters place? Or more likely, in the
Fantasy Castle at Disney World? ;-I
Posted by ( Old_Crusty ) on 08/03/2009 at 10:51 am.
10:51AM, I just checked, "Slappy" was not one of the ORIGINAL seven dwarfs.
Posted by ( temporaryresident ) on 08/03/2009 at 11:33 am.
As a soon to be former resident, I can assure you all that they are not keeping up
anything in that place! My unit happens to be just a few feet away from the building
where the fire started (thank god no damage to my unit) but the two young women
and a few others they speak of lost everything, along with thousands in damage. I
am set to move into my new place on the 15th and can not wait! There is mold in
units on the first floor, one lady's apartment is flooded becasue her water heater
broke and the rain from the other day didn't help (her unit now smells like mold). The
ceiling just outside of my unit collapsed last year (just after I renewed my lease) and
I highly doubt they did a mold check, let alone check the wiring that is messed up.
I'm praying that nobody was hurt, it looks good on that so far.
Posted by ( usfsmartie ) on 08/03/2009 at 11:47 am.
I hope they have good renter's insurance. (Can you even get renter's insurance at a
complex that has had more fires than boy scout campground?)
Posted by ( temporaryresident ) on 08/03/2009 at 11:51 am.
@ usfsmartie...I don't think they had renters insurance, and the really messed up
part about it is the woman and her sister that woke her up were set to move out at
the end of the month!
Posted by ( Stardog ) on 08/03/2009 at 01:33 pm.
Wade says,with a large number of people living in a complex like this your're going
to have fires?????WTF does that mean?
Posted by ( felixthecat ) on 08/03/2009 at 02:00 pm.
now the good news verizon will still charge them $60 to move there phone.
Posted by ( nickatdabeach ) on 08/03/2009 at 03:07 pm.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by ( TheSecondTimeAround ) on 08/03/2009 at 03:27 pm.
RENTER'S INSURANCE - ALL RENTERS - if you rent an apartment, there is no
insurance for your stuff unless you buy insurance. Landlord or even other tenant
who started fire is not responsible for protecting your stuff. Don't be cheap, get
coverage. Coverage would also help you if you were displaced, by paying for a
place to stay.......and as for the lady who was asleep and didn't hear the alarm,
OMFG. Whatever. Get your own smoke alarm for $9.99 anywhere and stick it up in
your apartment or lay it on the freaking coffee table. Protect yourself people instead
of waiting for the gubment to do for you.
Posted by ( cheqsixx ) on 08/03/2009 at 03:29 pm.
Either the owners are STUPID to think they can get away with eventually burning the
place down for insurance money (or to get out of the mortgage on the complex), OR
there are some juvenile-delinquents with nothing better to do over the summer than
play with matches/lighters in a vacant unit while momma/daddy aren't around to
watch em..... As for residents still living there, I'd get out while I was still alive. One
way or another, bet the ranch another fire will happen before summer ends.
Posted by ( uknownance ) on 08/03/2009 at 03:38 pm.
I have an idea, remove all the animals & old people from the complex & burn the
whole thing down.
Posted by ( uknownance ) on 08/03/2009 at 03:43 pm.
STA: I agree! Has the poor dog in your neighborhood been rescued yet? If not you
should keep reporting it or do away with your neighbor...
Posted by ( mim ) on 08/03/2009 at 04:00 pm.
When I saw the "Troubled" apartments, my first thought was that this was an
insurance situation for financial gain. What's the "troubled" part? That it had two
fires? That happens a lot.
Posted by ( usfsmartie ) on 08/03/2009 at 04:01 pm.
Guarunteed, the two women that "didn't hear" the alarm don't have insurance and
will try to sue the owners of the complex.
Posted by ( TravisBickle ) on 08/03/2009 at 04:10 pm.
'Troubled' means that you're paying for them to live there. You ALWAYS have more
damage and problems when people don't share in the domestic expenses.
Posted by ( slappy ) on 08/03/2009 at 04:18 pm.
Old_Crusty,you sound like a normal person.You can get renters insurance at Gieco..
Posted by ( dezmen ) on 08/03/2009 at 04:55 pm.
I live in the complex and yes in the past it has had very very serious problem and I
have even had my share of issues but to be fair in recent months the new owners
have been trying to impove things they have hired an new security staff to patrol at
night etc and they are responding much more quickly to repair request weather they
are of an emergency or non emergency nature. I am not trying to down anyone that
lives on section 8 because there are some good people that need the help alsobut
as a rule i would try to get them out of the complex as there leases come ddue and
replace them with people that care about where there live and what to live by the
rules and be proud of there complex. Perhaps in the mean time they need to have
the security teams up there numbers.
Posted by ( Old_Crusty ) on 08/03/2009 at 05:40 pm.
5:39PM, Thanks Slappy, I had renters insurance as I moved around the world.
Military housing replaces their buildings but not your/my contents. I was usually in
quads or duplexes and you never know what the neighbors are up to. I'm doing
alright now and I'm still happy over getting fricking rid of State Farm FLORIDA in Oct
'06. ... You didn't leave a lighter at the scene did ya? Fingerprints can come back to
haunt ya! ;-}
Posted by ( Old_Crusty ) on 08/03/2009 at 05:44 pm.
5:44PM, "normal person" He, he, he, chortle, snort, I CAN fool some of the people
some of the time. "Normal" Oh P-L-E-A-S-E-! ;-}
Posted by ( ijarne ) on 08/04/2009 at 08:33 am.
This complex needs to go! The property owner's are getting a free ride from the
city's code enforcement. They should be forced to lose this property so that
someone can bulldoze the whole thing! It's prime waterfront location could be a boon
for a savvy developer. Great location...not far from downtown...very desirable
commumity. City Code Enforement, where are you?
Posted by ( KatrinaB ) on 08/04/2009 at 08:46 am.
GREED and to get paid for it too
Posted by ( TOOPRETTYforprison ) on 08/04/2009 at 03:54 pm.
slappy's CLOSE. they are methheads and cookers. same as what was at
georgetown in south tampa. It cracks me up that the sloppy, ignorant cookers finally
BLEW UP so many DUMPS that the fire dept is forced to actually label them as
suspicious or arson. That's okay, their crack arson investigator can shove it under
the carpet or maybe arrest someone that the fire dept can't terrorize. Everyone with
a brain knows it is meth labs exploding. AND on top of that they want this property.
They've threatened to burn down our house so many times that I have had to finally
file injunction charges against their criminal cohort on the block who leaves dead
animals by my car and has firefighter cars parked in his driveway all day and night.
So ..... yeah. Arson.Don't be arsonating my house your losers. That would be THE
FIFTH ONE in our family. Which doesn't really raise eyebrows in Tampa cause
they're ALL in on it.
My gosh, Jack. Nice to meet you AGAIN. Did any of the ones who are violators get
notice or just dragged into court like nazi germany?? So the mingue extortion unit
could go to work on them.Wow, it's SUCH a small world. I'm so glad you recoved
from your car wreck. I hadn't even heard about it! Last time I aw Tony he failed to
mention it. Glad you are okay and able to get on with your code enforcement and
other extracurriclar activiies.
Stardog! Good catch. They are all related to arsonists.One of their relatives who is
now a firefighter set a fire in my mother's oven vent and another (same family) burnt
down my cousin's home in lutz and NOW LIVES IN IT. Or the brother who is NOT a
sexual predator does. Anyway... of course they want to develop this property. Look
where it is. AND this is how the fire dept goes about acquiring property for the city of
tampa and it's sriminal leadership who all belong in JAIL. Anyone with eyes and ears
sees that we now have new york cops covering up for the new york and puerto rican
gangs. And the only reason I mention they are Puerto Ricans is because they attach
the colors to themselves obviously a point of pride !! AND the Irish Republican Army
Tampa FL ... arrived in 1989. Selective prosecution of long term tampa residents
began subsequently. Go see if you cam make the connection to HOW that
happened. Their stuff DOES NOT burn down BUT you will find the IRA members
living in homes all over the place in tampa with no VISIBLE means of support. And
now the fire dept covers up for them and helps to terrorize residents. Math ain't that
hard.Demand accontability from these people. Make them go away.
I dunno about the community being desirable. I DO KNOW that it is loaded down
with firemen and their families including the guy stott?? Who shoved his wife's car
out into traffic. I mean if you like white trash ... I guess it's pretty desirable.
go check out beacon and all the way back down riverview... wonder how many of
THOSE houses burnt down or were 'troubled' before a fireman or his family OWNED
THEM?????
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Latest blaze at troubled apartment complex ruled

Tampa Fire Rescue

• Video: Fire investigators

• See the pictures

• July fire ruled arson

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