A house fire in St. Pete early Sunday claimed the life of an 18-year-old woman and hospitalized two others. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — An 18-year-old woman died and two others were hospitalized after a fast-moving house fire tore through a home early Sunday morning, officials said.
Firefighters were called to Neptune Drive just after 3:30 a.m. When crews arrived, they found heavy flames coming from the structure.
“On arrival, we had heavy fire showing… and crews went in for an aggressive search,” Deputy Fire Chief Brett Ciskoski with St. Pete Fire Rescue said.
According to the department, four people were inside the home when the fire started. Crews were able to pull all of them out within about ten minutes. The 18-year-old did not survive. Two others were taken to the hospital. Their conditions have not been released.
Neighbor Rosalie Uber said she woke up to a loud noise moments before the flames spread.
“I heard a man screaming… and I heard a pop, pop, pop and I knew something was wrong,” she said.
She immediately called 911. When she stepped outside, she said the entire sky was glowing.
“Oh my gosh, it was like everything was orange — like when something is on fire,” Uber said. Hours later, she told 10 Tampa Bay News she was still shaken. “I’m still shaking now… I’m probably four hours into this.”
By daylight, the home was left completely charred — only the shell of the structure still standing. A car in the carport was burned down to bare metal.
Ciskoski said the cause of the fire remains under investigation. An arson dog was brought in, which he noted is standard procedure as investigators work to determine what sparked the blaze.
St. Pete Fire Rescue, along with fire investigators, remained on scene through the morning.