Three-Alarm Fire At Florida CubeSmart Causes Damage, Injury

A three-alarm fire broke out Tuesday night around 9:30pm at the CubeSmart storage facility on North 56th Street in Temple Terrace, Florida. The blaze caused extensive damage to dozens of storage units and left one person injured.

Firefighters battled the blaze for nearly nine hours before bringing it under control early Wednesday morning.

Officials confirmed that a man sustained burn injuries about three hours after the fire began and was transported to a local hospital in stable condition.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but Wednesday afternoon Hillsborough Fire Rescue said the origin of the fire did not seem suspicious or intentional.

Linda Webster, a renter at the facility, expressed concern over the potential loss of her inventory for a budding business. “I have items there that I’ve been purchasing over time to start my business with flowers and gifts,” she said, and then emphasized the importance of insurance, stating, “If it has value to you, then insure it.”

Another renter, Malachi Hoskins, narrowly avoided disaster. He had planned to move $5,000 worth of antiques, furniture, and paintings into his unit but was delayed.  “I thank God I didn’t lose any of them,” Hoskins said.

Less than two weeks ago, another Florida CubeSmart facility in Riverview had a fire break out in its RV parking lot. The blaze took out eight RVs but no storage units were damaged and there were no injuries. According to reporters on the scene, the fire originated from an RV and quickly spread to other vehicles nearby. Below are newly released images from that fire courtesy of the Hillsborough County Fire Department.

Further Reading: