Witnesses Describe University Club Apartment Fire Scene

Emergency vehicles lined the streets inside and outside the front entrance of the Thursday morning. A hose from a fire hydrant ran down 22nd Street and through the apartment complex. The roads were blocked off. A breeze carried a charred smell as it passed.

Five units at 12702 University Club Drive were destroyed early Thursday when a two-alarm fire broke out in a first-floor apartment building, according to Ray Yeakley, public information officer for Hillsborough Fire Rescue. Other units sustained serious fire and water damage. No one was injured.

Reporters weren’t allowed on the property, but Patch was able to talk to residents who were walking in and out of the entrance.

Jesus Torres, who had planned to help his friend move out of the complex Thursday, described the affected buildings as “crispy.”

“It’s all toasted,” he said.

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue units were the first to respond to the fire just before 5:30 a.m., Yeakley said.

“Heavy smoke and flames were seen from a distance by responding crews,” Yeakley said in a press release. “The first unit on scene reported heavy flames through the roof of a two story apartment building. Immediately a second alarm was requested bringing units from Tampa Fire Rescue and for a total of 14 units and 35 firefighters.”

Resident Cheryl Davis, who lives just behind the affected units, said she was awoken by her 14-year-old granddaughter, who was getting ready to leave for school.

“She said, ‘Grandma, that building behind us is on fire,’ ” Davis recalled. “As soon as I opened my door, I could smell smoke, see smoke.”

Marchelle Lewis also opened her door to see what was going on. She said she saw several people standing outside.

“There was a woman holding a baby,” she said. “People had no shoes on. One man had no shirt on. It’s sad. I feel so sorry for them.”

Lewis said other residents told her they had lost everything.

“We feel bad for the people it did affect,” Davis said. “I couldn’t even imagine what it would feel like.”

The fire was brought under control within two hours, Yeakley said. Units remained at the complex after 9 a.m. to extinguish flare-ups and maintain hot spots.