TAMPA — About 20 units at the Bay Colony Apartments were damaged during a fire early Saturday morning.
"I stepped out, and that thing, the blaze, was just the biggest fire I've ever seen, honestly," said Ismael Rivera.
Two days after a fire at his Tampa apartment building, Rivera is back, hoping to get some of his belongings.
When he ran out of his apartment he said he panicked.
"I grabbed my phone, wallet, and then I just went for my clothes. Aside from that, I didn't grab anything else. I had a bunch of laundry actually on my back."
Rivera said his unit only had water damage, but other apartments were gutted.
After the fire, someone who lives here reached out to ABC Action News saying Tampa Fire Rescue had issues connecting to a fire hydrant.
So, we listened to scanner recordings to learn more.
We heard a member of Tampa Fire Rescue say, "We got this hydrant wide open, and there's barely any water coming into the 5-inch. We may have to find another water source."
I followed up with questions for Tampa Fire Rescue.
They told me a fire hydrant inside the complex wasn't working properly.
They said they don't typically rely on privately owned hydrants and hooked up to the city-maintained hydrant outside the complex.
Tampa Fire Rescue said this did not cause a delay in getting the fire under control.
City workers were here Monday putting notices on the building declaring it unfit for human habitation.
That leaves people like Ismael wondering what to do next.
"We all are feeling so ignorant in the situation. It's so humbling."
Tampa Fire Rescue said the causes of the fire is under investigation.
"Let’s help out our community where we can."
A local business owner founded the Hometown Titan Retreat with the aim of encouraging the entire local business community to come together and help as much as they can after devastating hurricanes in 2024.
