Leak Floods 27 Floors Of Apartment Tower, Residents Evacuated

TAMPA, FL — A water leak at a downtown Tampa high-rise apartment complex has flooded 27 floors of the building.

Tampa Fire Rescue received a call at 3:30 a.m. Friday reporting a general fire alarm in the multi-story residential building at 808 N. Franklin St. Crews arrived on the scene at the Element apartments and found significant flooding inside the building but no sign of a fire.

Crews assisted in evacuating residents from the 35-story building and rescued a building security team member who was trapped inside an elevator that had stopped working due to the flooding.

Fire crews inspected every floor and found the cause of the flooding was a breach in the main municipal water supply line inside the building. Components at two locations, on the 12th and 27th floors, appeared to be the source of the flooding.

Every floor from the 27th and below was impacted by the flooding. The 28th to 35th floors escaped water damage.

Inspectors from the fire marshal's office are on the scene to make a full assessment of the building's infrastructure. They will decide what actions to take to mitigate the problems associated with the flooding and allow residents back into their homes.

The building's management staff is attempting to find rooms for residents at local hotels.

One firefighter sustained a minor injury on the scene. There were no other injuries reported.