Update: Fire Started on St. Joseph Cancer Institute's Roof

Tampa Fire Rescue battled a three-alarm fire that broke out at St. Joseph Cancer Institute Thursday afternoon.

The blaze at the 3001 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. hospital was reported at 2:20 p.m., brought under control by 2:59 p.m. and completely extinguished by 4:06 p.m., the department stated in an email to media.

“When the first units arrived, firefighters found heavy smoke and flames coming from the roof of a lower level portion of the multi-story building,” the email said. “Construction materials staged on pallets on the lower roof were burning.”

The Fire Marshal’s Office determined the blaze likely began when sparks from welding operations on the building’s upper roof fell onto the lower section, igniting construction materials, the department reported.

The building was undergoing renovations and was unoccupied at the time of the fire. 

No injuries were reported.

Image courtesy of Tampa Fire Rescue

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