BRADENTON BEACH – Black smoke could be seen rising high into the air after a fire started on March 8 at 403 Gulf Drive S., Unit D in a four-unit condo building known as Birds Nest.
Bradenton Beach Police Officer Steve Masi and Lt. Lenard Diaz were the first to arrive on the scene after getting through the long line of spring break traffic.
“Since it was unknown whether the building’s units were occupied, as soon as I arrived, I exited my vehicle and ran towards it,” Masi said in a police report. “In passing, I saw the building’s owner, and Unit A resident, Mr. Bettona. I asked him if anyone was in his unit or any other and he said nobody was in his, but they were all rented, so possibly, yes.”
Masi ran up to Unit D, which he said he could clearly see was on fire from the outside and touched the door handle to see if it was hot. Since it was only warm, Masi entered the unit, which was filled with smoke, and said he could visibly see the fire coming from the right side of the condo. He announced himself and asked if anyone was in the unit, while lying on the floor to reduce smoke inhalation. After Masi cleared the unit, he went back down to assist with traffic and crowd control with other officers, since fire crews were on the scene at that point.
In a department report, West Manatee Fire Rescue (WMFR) firefighters note they could clearly see the smoke from the fire as they were crossing the Cortez Bridge into Bradenton Beach. Engine 121 was the first to arrive on the scene and noted heavy smoke and fire coming from the Unit D corner of the two-story-over-parking structure building. The E121 team assumed command and advised a firefighter to stretch a 200-foot line to the affected area while another officer from E121 conducted a 360 check of the building, finding one vehicle and no residents present.
Additional trucks arrived, including ladder engine 139 and trucks from Longboat Key and the City of Bradenton, who also assisted. WMFR’s report notes that fire attack did a good job of extinguishing the fire both interior and exterior and all searches came back negative. According to Fire Marshal Randy Kwiatkowski, the fire started on the exterior second-story balcony of Unit D, but the exact cause was undetermined.
“Our investigation could not determine the cause of the fire in part because the extent of damage to the area of origin compromised the integrity of the balcony, creating an unacceptable life safety risk to our investigators,” Kwiatkowski said. “I did call Bradenton Beach Building Official Steve Gilbert, who responded and condemned Unit D. There were no injuries to firefighters or residents. Also, one note of extreme importance is, at the time of the fire, there was one resident in Unit D in the shower who heard the sound of a smoke alarm. Because of the working smoke alarm, he escaped the fire unharmed. I cannot stress enough that working smoke alarms save lives.”
The fire marshal said the building is a four-unit, all-wood construction apartment building. Units B, C and D are licensed transient public lodging establishments/vacation rentals and all three were being rented at the time of the fire. Once the building was cleared of hot spots and the area was cleaned of debris, residents of the undamaged units were allowed to return.
“Without the extraordinary professionalism of West Manatee firefighters and our partnering agencies, this would no doubt have ended more tragically,” Kwiatkowski noted.
