ST. PETERSBURG, FL — After an early Wednesday morning fire destroyed St. Pete Ceramics art studio, the owners promised to rebuild as they clean-up and clear out the damaged space.
“Our beloved community studio, that has become the home away from home for so many in our area, had a massive fire that completely destroyed the space,” co-owner Beth Miranda wrote in a GoFundMe fundraiser for the ceramics studio. “We’ve lost all our kilns, wheels, and pretty much everything that helped make the space special. We will overcome this loss and we will rebuild, but we need your help.”
As of Thursday evening, nearly $3,000 of the $50,000 to rebuild the studio has been raised.
In the meantime, all classes at St. Pete Ceramics are canceled and the paint-your-own-pottery area is closed indefinitely as studio staff cleans up the space and determines their next steps.
When reviewing the business’s camera, smoke started appearing around 3:30 a.m. and the camera stopped recording around 4 a.m., Miranda told Patch.
Her business partner learned about the blaze when the St. Petersburg Fire Department called him overnight and he was able to get in touch with her around 4:45 a.m.
“We have a problem,” he told her, she recalled.
The fire broke out in the kiln area, Miranda said. While kiln was running at the time, she doesn’t believe they caused the fire.
“I think it was electrical,” she said. “The kiln actually looks pretty good. It’s the only thing looking pretty good.”
The fire marshal is working to determine the cause, she added.
The studio’s kiln area and back hallway were completely destroyed in the fire. The rest of the building has smoke and water damage.
The owners, employees and volunteers spent Wednesday removing pottery pieces, both finished and in progress, from the studio, to clear the space for a cleaning company to come in.
Most pieces survived the fire, Miranda said. “I asked the firefighters, how did they manage to not break things? They said they were very careful. The whole place is filled with pottery and I think only two or three things were broken. It was impressive and very kind of them.”
Despite the destruction caused by the fire, she’s awed by the community’s response to the tragedy and the support the ceramics studio has received.
“It’s been the greatest worst thing ever,” she said. “We had so many people come by today, to check on us, to see what we needed, to help get everything out so we can start cleaning and rebuilding. St. Pete is literally the best.”
See Also: