ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Just after 3 a.m. in the Shore Acres neighborhood of St. Petersburg, fire erupted in a home in the 1500 block of Connecticut Avenue Northeast.
It was the third house fire in the neighborhood in the wake of Hurricane Idalia.
“It was really crazy, I’ve never seen a fire like that,” said Aster Luu.
She noticed flashing lights outside of her home and then went to check on a neighbor.
“But then I look over here and it’s like engulfed in flames,” Luu recalled.
The home suffered major damage as a result of flooding from Idalia. The family that lives there moved out while repairs were being done. No one was in the house during the fire and there were no injuries.
Karen Frame lives nearby and her home also suffered from storm surge flooding.
“This is nothing, I can deal with a flood, you know a fire is a different level, because I’ve been through a fire too and Matt and Katie, it’s just devastation,” said Frame.
She says frequent flooding in the neighborhood is changing things.
“The insurance alone, it just pushing people out because you can’t afford the insurance,” said Frame.
St. Petersburg Fire Rescue says anyone who has floodwater in their home should look it over carefully before turning back on the electricity.
“Water and electricity, they’ll meet, they will generate heat because of the shorting and too much energy going through the line and generate heat because of the shorting or too much energy going through the line,” said Lieutenant Garth Swindle with St. Petersburg Fire Rescue.
He says if you have any doubts, hire a professional to have your home inspected.
“Inspect the house, really get into detail, look at anything low that might have been affected by the flood water. Anything, that maybe water got above the outlets,” said Lt. Swindle.