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Apartment building evacuated after fire
Genevieve Curtis reports
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - About 250 seniors in St. Petersburg left their homes on Tuesday after a fire in their apartment building.
The St. Petersburg Fire Department spent all day and night on Tuesday, December 17, evacuating seniors from the Lutheran Apartments, which is a 16-story building in downtown. There was a fire in the electrical room of the building on the night of Monday, December 16, leaving the building without power or water.
It could be two weeks before the building can be fixed.
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"I’m just worried about all these people," said Ralph Lebkuecher, one of the residents of the 55-plus community.
Residents of Luthern Apartments waiting to get bussed to temporary housing after the apartment complex caught on fire.
Residents told FOX 13 that they were initially told they were on their own and needed to find other places to stay, because the building wouldn’t have power or water for at least a week. Lebkuecher said he was prepared to sleep in his car.
"We don't know where we're going, and we all been sitting out here all day," said Lebkuecher.
Residents were sitting outside the building for hours, unsure if they would be taken to a shelter. Then, the fire department arrived and began evacuating people from the 16-story building.
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Dozens of immobile residents were evacuated from the top floors with some coming down on stretchers and others trekked down the 16 stories by themselves.
"If you live up on the 16th floor, you ain't got access to get the hell up out of there," said Theo Rush, another resident. "They shut the elevator off; how are you going out? Somebody gotta help me down the stairs."
Luthern Apartments' residents congregated outside the building after evacuating due to a building fire.
It took all afternoon and evening to get everyone out. FOX 13 was there when the last bus left with residents at 9 p.m. Residents were seen pulling suitcases and carting their beloved pets as they shuffled onto a city bus to be taken to a hotel.
Many of these residents evacuated because of the hurricanes and will now be displaced for Christmas. The apartment manager told FOX 13 they could place everyone with loved ones in a hotel room.
"This is terrible," said Lebkuecher.
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The manager of the Lutheran Apartments, Rick Langford, told FOX 13 that the electric fire caused extensive damage to a 55-year-old system, which is also considered a low-income tax credit property. They estimate it could take up to two weeks for the repairs before residents can return.
Langford said they were grateful for the work done by the entire city. City officials and the mayor came to offer help.
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