TAMPA, FL. – One person was rescued from an elevator on Friday morning after a water leak in a Tampa Apartment building flooded a portion of the structure.
According to investigators, Tampa Fire Rescue received a call at 3:30 a.m. Friday morning reporting a general fire alarm in the multi-story residential building located at 808 North Franklin Street in Downtown Tampa.
Crews arrived on the scene at the Element apartments and found significant flooding inside the building but no sign of fire. Crews immediately began investigating the origin of the leak while firefighters assisted in evacuating the residents of the 35-story building.
Officials say there was one person who was trapped inside one of the elevators that had stopped working due to the flooding. That person was a member of the building security team and was safely removed from the elevator by firefighters.
Crews inspected every floor and found that the cause of the flooding was a breach in the main municipal water supply line inside the building.
Investigators say that components at two locations, on the 12th and 27th floors, appeared to be the source of the flooding. Every floor from the 27th and below was affected by the flooding.
Floors between the 28th and 35th were unaffected by the water damage.
Inspectors from the fire marshal’s office are on the scene and making a full assessment, along with building management, of the building’s infrastructure systems.
Officials say they will decide on the next actions to be taken to mitigate the problems associated with the flooding and safely allow residents back into their homes.
Building management was making efforts to find rooms for residents at local hotels.
One firefighter sustained a minor injury on the scene but is expected to return to full duty. There were no other injuries reported at the scene.
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