By Shelley Rossetter, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, October 3, 2010
TAMPA — Senior citizens ousted from their apartment tower Saturday after a kitchen fire forced the power to be cut may not be able to return home until Tuesday, a Red Cross official said.
The fire broke out in a fifth-floor apartment at the Tampa N.A.P.F.E. Towers at 11113 N Nebraska Ave. on Saturday afternoon. A sprinkler held the flames in check, but caused water damage throughout the first five floors of the seven-story building, officials said.
The building's power was shut off out of concern, and the residents in the 82 occupied apartments were evacuated, officials said.
"They can't turn the power back on until all of the water is dried up," said Janet McGuire, a spokeswoman for the Tampa Bay chapter of the Red Cross, which helped about 20 residents with temporary shelter.
An electrician was expected to inspect the property Sunday, McGuire said.
While the majority of the residents were able to find shelter, the residents being helped by the Red Cross stayed at a nearby church Saturday night, McGuire said, and on Sunday were moved to hotels by the property managers.