The St. Petersburg community is uniting to raise funds for the University of South Florida Marine Science Lab\u2019s recovery after a devastating fire on May 2.<\/p>\n
City councilmember Gina Driscoll said she was \u201cabsolutely shocked\u201d when she got the call from the fire chief about the two-alarm level blaze.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a devastating fire for our marine science community,\u201d Driscoll said.<\/p>\n
The facility, which also housed the Florida Institute of Oceanography<\/a>, has been pivotal in cataloguing the impact of hurricanes and harmful algae blooms, and looking into port security to ensure safe commerce under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.<\/p>\n “Losing the Marine Science Lab is a huge gap in the work that happens here in the district,\u201d said Alison Barlow, the CEO of the St. Petersburg Innovation District.<\/p>\n The district is public-private partnership with collaborators focusing on maritime technology, life science, data and tech, national security, education and entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n Barlow said solutions to community and coastal-area problems have come out of the Marine Science Lab, adding that even some startup businesses have been inspired by the research there.<\/p>\n \u201cThe work they’re working on is not just based in our community, though it’s so relevant for us, but they’re also tackling problems that have an impact around the world, so this is something that will definitely be felt for a long time,\u201d Barlow said.<\/p>\n ALSO READ: USF Marine Science dean laments loss of research in laboratory building fire<\/a><\/p>\n She\u2019s teaming with Driscoll to co-host a fundraiser,<\/a> which is free to attend Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the district\u2019s wharf.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s so many costs to everything from replacing computers to, holding events, renting space, and there’ll certainly be ways in which the university will help them recover, but \u2026 it’s our way to contribute to that,\u201d said Barlow.<\/p>\n Driscoll said this is the first step of many in the process of recovering, but she was happy to see the rest of the Innovation District spring into action so quickly the night of the fire. <\/p>\n \u201cDifferent companies and organizations were on the phone with each other, talking about what space they had that they would be able to share and offer up to the College of Marine Science and the Florida Institute of Oceanography,\u201d Driscoll said.<\/p>\n Even the Pinellas County legislative delegation is doing what it can to support the St. Petersburg marine science researchers.<\/p>\n State Rep. Lindsay Cross, a Democrat whose district includes St. Petersburg and Pinellas Park, is hoping recovery funds will be added to the state’s budget during a special session in Tallahassee this week.<\/p>\n \u201cI was just horrified,\u201d said Cross, upon learning about the fire.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a big thunderstorm that day, and so I was worried about making sure my dog was not going to freak out in the storms. And the last thing on my mind was that there was going to be a fire that would completely devastate one of the most important research hubs in our community,\u201d<\/p>\n Her first job as an environmental scientist was just steps away from the lab.<\/p>\n