City block remains closed after massive fire in downtown Tampa

Fire destroys downtown Tampa restaurant

Aaron Mesmer reports

TAMPA, Fla. - Flames erupted at a downtown Tampa restaurant on Sunday, injuring two firefighters and one other person, and causing $450,000 in damages.

The four-alarm fire broke out at the Szechuan House restaurant around 6 p.m. and quickly engulfed the entire business.

"One of my customers came out and grabbed me and said, 'there's a fire,'" said DeShun Levingston, the general manager of SoFresh Salads, which is two doors down from the Chinese restaurant.

Levingston didn't hesitate to run into the Szechuan House to help an employee who was trying to escape.

"Natural instinct kicked in, as far as the next human being able to live. If you can save somebody, you have the ability, do it," Levingston said. "I would say he was about six or seven feet from the door. He just seemed like he was having a struggle getting out. He had burns on his hands."

Levingston was able to help the man make it out of the building. Meanwhile, the fire, which investigators believe started in the kitchen, had spread, eventually causing the roof and second floor of the Szechuan House to collapse.

"The kind of fire that we fought last night is the ultimate fire that we really train for. It was one of the most difficult in recent times," said Tampa Fire Rescue Chief Nick LoCicero, adding it's remarkable none of the nearby buildings were also destroyed. "While we lost the building in question, we saved so much more on either side."

Three people suffered minor injuries, including two firefighters and one person who was inside at the time, according to Tampa Fire Rescue.

The firefighters were taken to Tampa General Hospital for treatment.

Franklin Street remained closed Monday morning, between Madison Street and Twiggs Street, affecting multiple businesses within that portion of the city.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but fire officials say the fire does not appear to be suspicious.