UPDATE: The fire at Tivoli Apartments has been declared as an accidental fire with an undetermined cause, stated by Seminole County public information officer Paula Thompson.
The Seminole Building Official determined the fire-damaged apartment building is unsafe to enter.
“This is primarily due to the thousands of gallons of water utilized during extinguishment of the fire that creates a potential risk for a ceiling collapse that could have hundreds of pounds of weight falling on someone inside the structure,” reads a statement released by Seminole County Fire Department.
The building has been handed back over to Tivoli property management.
The American Red Cross, University of Central Florida and Tivoli Property Management are working to relocate residents.
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UPDATE: Affected residents will be able to stand by as firefighters go into the first and second floor apartments of the fire-damaged buildings from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in an effort to salvage possessions. Residents will not be allowed to enter the building but they can be present, according to a Tivoli manager.
Twenty-five of the 75 displaced residents are UCF students, according to a UCF release. Ten of them stayed in UCF’s temporary housing option at the Lake Claire on-campus community and four more displaced students are expected to stay there Monday night, too.
Apartment Finders representatives will be on site at 10 a.m. to assist displaced residents in finding housing options, according to UCF release.
Red Cross will be on site at noon for those who have not registered with them yet.
Firefighters worked into the night to help salvage residents’ belongings.
“Last night the firefighters did go into the apartment and retrieved belongings for the students,” said Heidi Mcnatt, mother of a displaced student resident. “They were very helpful and my son was able to get some clothes for work that he needed today…Other students got laptops, purses and in addition to that they did rescue a kitty from the second floor.”
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ORIGINAL POST: Firefighters battled a large fire at Tivoli Apartments near the University of Central Florida late Sunday afternoon leaving 75 residents without a home. No residents were hurt, said Seminole County Fire Department public information officer Paula Thompson.
Video by Brigitte Snedeker and Danielle Apolinar.
Orange County Fire Department responded to the fire at 1456 Portofino Point Drive, off Mcculloch Road north of UCF, at 3:16 p.m. today along with Seminole County Fire Department, the lead agency that responded, making a total of 60 firefighters on scene.
“When our crews arrived on scene they had flames through the roof,” Thompson said.
Firefighters are unsure of the cause of the fire and will not know until tomorrow when the State Fire Marshal’s Office conducts an investigation, Thompson informed.
Beginning in apartment building 1450, the fire quickly spread to 1456. Seminole County Fire Department PIO Media tweeted that eight buildings were originally evacuated and 24 total units displaced.
As phone calls, text messages, Facebook posts and tweets were sent out informing the public of the fire, residents rushed home to save their pets and salvage their possessions.
“I need to get my computer stuff out and I’ll be all right,” were the thoughts that rushing through the head of third-floor resident Jadon Stringfellow as he collected his belongings before the fire could consume them.
One of the second-floor residents who lost her home to the fire, Caroline Castille, said Tivoli alerted her promptly about the fire and one of the managers told her and her roommates what the next steps would be.
“Its gut wrenching,” Jevonne Cullen said of the devastating scene around him as he watched firefighters contain the fire. “How are you going to focus on an assignment when you got a fire going on?” he added.
Tivoli Apartments resident Austin Faulconer pointed out the irony in the situation when he said Tivoli conducted a sprinkler test earlier in the week.
Residents were not the only ones affected by the fire as two firefighters were transported to the hospital for heat exhaustion.
Tivoli Apartments managers are working with the Red Cross to provide affected residents with a place to stay.
It is unknown how many of the 75 displaced residents are UCF students but UCF is allowing displaced students to stay in temporary housing at the Lake Claire community on campus, according to UCF spokesperson Chad Binette.
“UCF can provide displaced students staying on campus with bedding and linens, and the Red Cross is helping them obtain other personal supplies that they will need,” a UCF release reads.
KnightNews.com readers replied to our Facebook post as they reflected on today’s incident and remembered the Tivoli Apartments fire years ago.
Displaced students wishing to find an off campus option can talk to Red Cross volunteers at the Tivoli clubhouse as Tivoli managers are working with the Red Cross to provide affected residents with a place to stay.
UCF students wishing to speak to a victim advocate can call Victim Services at 407-823-1200. UCF Housing and Residence Life can be reached 24/7 Sunday night and Monday morning at 407-882-5000.
This is an ongoing story. Check back for updates.
