Crime & Safety

Early Morning Fire Destroys Brandon Apartment Building

Some residents of the complex had to escape out of first- and second-story windows, and 22 people were displaced by the fire, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue reports.

A two-alarm structure fire destroyed a two-story Brandon apartment building early Tuesday morning, forcing some residents to escape out of second-story windows and displacing 22 residents, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue reports.

Firefighting crews arrived around 1:15 a.m. at the apartments at 3205 Buckrun Dr. to find a "heavy volume of fire" at the front entrance and spreading through the roof, fire rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley said in a media release.

According to initial reports, the main entrance of the eight-unit apartment building was blocked by the fire and forced the occupants to exit out of the first- and second-story windows, Yeakley said.

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Three people sustained minor, non-life threatening injuries and were transported to area hospitals.

A total of 12 units and 35 firefighters responded to the scene and brought the fire under control with an hour, although crews continued to extinguish hot spots for several hours. The building is "listed as a total loss," Yeakley said in the release.

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"The cause of the fire is still under investigation and the dollar loss is not yet known," Yeakley said.


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