TAMPA, Fla. — A downtown Tampa restaurant was destroyed and multiple buildings where evacuated during a fire Sunday night.
- Fire happened at Szechuan House Restaurant on Franklin Street
- 2 firefighters treated for minor injuries
- Cause of fire undetermined
It took firefighters four hours to get the fire under control at Szechuan House Restaurant on Franklin Street.
Officials said the roof and a second floor living area collapsed during the fire.
Tampa Fire Rescue said the cause of the fire is undetermined, but they do know it started somewhere in the kitchen and isn’t considered suspicious in nature.
Only one person was inside Szechuan House when the fire started and that person was able to get out with only minor injuries. Two firefighters also suffered minor injuries. Both will be OK.
Officials stunned by downtown fire
SoFresh general manager Deshun Levingston saw it all happen.
“I immediately ran out and see that it wasn’t our building, but two doors down is Szechuan, so when I see the black smoke, I just immediately ran in,” he said.
Levingston says he helped pull the employee out to safety.
“I don’t know the owners, but being here four years I see that same individual coming in doing his job, so you know it was important to make sure that he was safe,” he said.
As people returned to work Monday, they were stunned to see the extent of the damage.
Even Mayor Jane Castor stopped by.
“It’s an old building, historic site and it really is sad to see that devastation there,” she said.
Fire officials were equally stunned by this fire.
“I can’t remember the last time we had a major fire downtown,” said Tampa Fire Rescue spokesperson Jason Penny.
The fire did not spread to other buildings, but officials had to evacuate the entire block due to the smoke and flames.
Fire officials credit the brick fire walls for keeping the fire from spreading to the other dozen or so businesses in the area.
The nearby CVS Pharmacy was closed on Monday due to minor smoke damage but is expected to reopen soon.
Frankie’s on Franklin, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. The business suffered more significant smoke and water damage during the fire.
Damage to the building is estimated at $300,000 while damage to the commercial kitchen equipment and other household items is estimated at $150,000.