Massive Fire Displaces at Least 30 Condo Residents

At least 30 people are displaced after a multiple-alarm fire ripped through a building at on Countryside Boulevard early Saturday.

A displaced woman from unit 305 escaped with her oxygen tank and whatever medications she could carry on her walker. She sat in an air-conditioned lobby across the street, her legs wrapped in an American Red Cross blanket, while her son talked to firefighters about retrieving documents from her damaged unit. Her third-floor unit adjoins the elevator shaft that divides the fire-ravaged building.

“The place is condemned,” her son reported back to her. “I told them my dad was about to have a heart attack about his paperwork. ... They took all the photos out and put a blanket over them. … Those guys are awesome.”

Five people were taken to local hospitals for smoke-related injuries; none were life-threatening.

Clearwater Fire and Rescue is continuing to watch the area for flare-ups.

Fire officials say that the initial call came in at 2:39 a.m. They arrived within two minutes to find flames shooting through the roof of 2595 Countryside Blvd. (building No. 8), and several people trapped on the third floor. At least five people were rescued from windows and balconies. One cat was rescued.

It took at least 100 firefighters until 6 a.m. to bring the blaze under control.

The fire destroyed half the building, impacting first-floor units 106, 107, 108 and 109; second-floor units 206, 207, 208 and 209; and third-floor units 306, 307, 308 and 309. The other half sustained smoke and water damage, fire officials say.

The American Red Cross is on scene to assist with temporary living arrangements.

Fire officials report that the fire started in a third-floor unit because of an electrical malfunction. 

Firefighters from Clearwater, Safety Harbor, Dunedin, Largo, Oldsmar and Tarpon Springs helped to put out the blaze.

*This story was updated Saturday, July 23, 2011, 8:38 p.m.