Tenants of the Birds Nest Apartments in Bradenton Beach had a sudden change in holiday plans after a fire broke out March 8 in one of four apartments.
The fire started in a second-floor balcony of Unit D at 403 Gulf Drive S. and ignited an external wall, according to West Manatee Fire Rescue reports.
Witnesses reported seeing fire and smoke emanating from the northernmost unit of the multifamily structure as they made calls to 911 and the Bradenton Beach Police Department.
Police Chief John Cosby told The Islander March 8 that Officer Steve Masi was one of the first to respond and evacuated tenants of units A, B and C.
From the WMFR District, fire Marshal Rodney Kwiatkowski said four people were staying in D. At the time of the fire, three of them had gone to the beach and the fourth was taking a shower when he heard the smoke alarms.
“Smoke alarms save lives,” Kwiatkowski said. “He gets out of the shower in just enough time to grab his clothes and evacuate the house. Didn’t grab his wallet. Didn’t grab his computers. The kid had just enough time to grab his clothes and get out of the house. That battery, that alarm, saved (his) life.”
No one was injured or required medical attention.
Kyle Phillips and his family were on vacation from Cedar Falls, Iowa, in a neighboring house. They called 911.
“We were just sitting over here on the patio and next thing you know we smell a little smoke and turn around and see a little fire coming out of the corner,” Phillips said.
Phillips was impressed with the response.
“Those firefighters did a heck of a job, once they got them on scene, because I thought everything was gone,” Phillips said.
A WMFR incident report said the first call was made at noon and the first fire rescue units arrived at 12:07 p.m. The last unit cleared the scene at 1:54 p.m.
Kwiatkowski said the fire was suppressed in short order and an investigation into the cause began.
“We’re going to list it as undetermined because we couldn’t dig it out,” Kwiatkowski told The Islander March 9.
Kwiatkowski said the balcony was structurally weakened by the fire, making the investigation hazardous for investigators.
He also said Bradenton Beach building inspector Steve Gilbert assessed the building and condemned units D and C.
Because utilities to the building were shut off, tenants were relocated by Vacasa, the rental company that manages the Birds Nest Vacation Apartments.