WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. – Emergency crews remained on the scene Friday morning at the Cobalt Apartments off Wesley Chapel Boulevard after a three-alarm fire ripped through a four-story building, causing structural collapses, destroying more than 90 units, and displacing approximately 200 residents.
Pasco County Fire Rescue arrived at the complex shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday to find heavy smoke and flames shooting from the roof. Crews immediately began evacuations of the building and neighboring structures, calling in mutual aid from Tampa Fire Rescue and Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, including multiple ladder trucks to combat the flames from above.
Officials declared the building a total loss after it sustained extensive roof and interior collapses. While several firefighters were treated on scene for heat exhaustion on Thursday, no injuries to residents have been reported.
First responders were also able to safely rescue dozens of pets from the burning building. Firefighters worked through the night to extinguish hot spots and continue to monitor the site.
The official cause of the fire remains under investigation, though severe weather had been moving across the area at the time.
Pasco County Fire Rescue Chief Ryan Guynn highlighted the physical challenges crews faced battling the blaze high off the ground in a wood-frame structure.
“It’s difficult, especially when the fire is up high,” Guynn said. “When we start adding on all that water and all that extra weight, that’s one of our major concerns is that the wood frame structure, there’s only so much load it can handle, and they start collapsing as we’ve seen in this building here.”
The American Red Cross and Pasco County Emergency Management are assisting the roughly 200 displaced residents with immediate housing and emergency resources, alongside the open Fasano shelter.
Cobalt Apartments is also accepting donations for affected tenants at 4338 Cobalt Brook Blvd. Management noted that clothing, toiletries, pet supplies, nonperishable food, and other daily essentials are being collected to support the displaced families.
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