By Dave Balut – 10 News
Largo, Florida – Chris Gallant and his fiancee are glad they can salvage clothes and other items after a fire at the Belleair Oaks condominiums in Largo. Others lost everything because there were no firebreaks in the attic and the flames spread quickly.
“It took about 20 minutes to go from one end to the other, so we saw the effect of that, not having firewalls,” said Gallant.
Largo’s Fire Chief says the condo building was built in 1970 when firewalls in the attic were not required by code. Five units on the second floor burned quickly before firefighters stopped the flames from advancing.
“The newer construction calls for those types of separations to go all the way up from the wall through into the attic so that a fire stays contained within that one residential structure,” said Fire Chief Michael Wallace.
So if you’re thinking of buying a condo, how do you know if the firebreak goes up through the attic?
“Have that building prior to purchase have a home inspection done and ask the home inspector, ‘Can you tell me if my home has those types of protections build it?'” said Chief Wallace.
Assistant Fire Marshal Tim Weedin says sometimes you can see firewalls extending above the roofline.
“The fire gets in that attic, it’s going to burn up to that wall and it’s not going to get past it,” said Weedin.
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