911 Calls, Flaming Dessert Burns Five at Ozona Blue Restaurant

[You can hear each of the five 911 calls by clicking on different video clips.]

Two customers at Ozona Blue Restaurant in the Home Port Marina in Palm Harbor suffered serious burns after a flamed dessert's alcohol leaked and ignited on Saturday, June 11.

They were airlifted to Tampa General Hospital. A total of five customers were burned during the incident.

A sheriff's office spokesperson says Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputy Shawn Heffner heard people yelling for an ambulance. He went inside the restaurant to find a crowd of people had gathered around 25-year old Katie Hudgins, who was laying on a sofa in the lobby area. Her upper body covered by a sheet.

Hudgins suffered severe first and second degree burns to 10 percent of her body. The other burn victim airlifted was 56 year-old Patricia Rogers who suffered minor burns to her skin and respiratory burns from inhaling the heated gas. She has since been released from the hospital.

Three other people were also injured, but refused treatment. They are Jimmy Rogers, 25, who was burned on his right knee;  Jacquelyn Williams, 58, who was burned on her left knee, and 60 year-old Raymond Rogers Jr.

The server who prepared the bananas foster dessert was Ian Monsalvo, 28, of Largo. A 151 proof rum was used to ignite the bananas foster dessert. During the preparation of the dessert at the victims’ table the burning rum splashed onto the customers.

Monsalvo told deputies that he was preparing two bananas foster desserts near the victims' table. Monsalvo said he remembered seeing a small flame in the bottle of the 151 as he was pouring it onto the dessert. He then lost control of the bottle, causing the flaming alcohol to spill from inside the bottle and onto the victims.

Deputy Heffner said that Monsalvo was very upset about what had happened. 

Palm Harbor Fire Rescue EMS Chief, Bob Markford says the incident happened just before 9 p.m. 

Markford says the restaurant staff responded quickly, "Employees grabbed fire extinguishers and extinguished the fire, another employee helped one of the women whose shirt caught fire."

Palm Fire Rescue Spokesperson, Liz Monforti says one of the employees of Ozona Blue who helped the victims, recently completed the firefighter's academy and emergency medical technician school. 

According to Markford the incident happened at a table near the front door and there was no damage to the restaurant because the fire was extinguished quickly.

Palm Harbor Fire Rescue sent three fire engines and one ladder truck, Dunedin Fire Rescue also responded.

Roads Alternate 19 was closed at Curlew Road so a medical helicopter could land to transport the patients to Tampa General Hospital.

The Ozona Blue Grilling Company is located at 125 Orange St in the .

Bananas foster is a flambe' dessert that is usually prepared tableside.

Dramatic 911 recordings reveal what happened in the moments after five guests at Palm Harbor's Ozona Blue restaurant were burned by flames from a flambe' dessert. 

Patch obtained the recordings from the Pinellas County 911 Communications Center. The recordings reveal how quickly people responded to the accident.

Beginning at 8:58 p.m., four 911 emergency calls were made from the restaurant within an eight second time span, a fifth call came in about 35 seconds later. In some of the recordings you can hear people making frantic pleas for help. Click on the video clips on the right to hear the 911 calls.

Call #1 (received at 20:58:10) "...They were making a dessert and the fire, it caught on fire on a lady, she's burned right now… they were cooking dessert and she was sitting on the end of the table and she got burned..."

Call #2 (received at 20:58:10) "...I'm at Ozona Blue restaurant and I've got a woman who just caught on fire..."

Call #3 (received at 20:58:14) "Emergency… Ozona Blue.. fire.. inside a restaurant they had an alcohol induced fire they were trying to pour alcohol… you may have some people who may've been injured in the fire..."

Call #4 (received at 20:58:18) "...I'm at Ozona Blue in Ozona Florida and there was a fire and a girl got burned  very badly..."

Call #5 (received at 20:59:02) "...We need an ambulance out to Ozona Blue restaurant… we had a bananas foster blow up and a lady got hurt..."