A massive fire ripped through a Tampa Bay rag manufacturing company last week. The early morning fire burned for at least four hours though the entire building in the 6803 block of Parke East Blvd off Hillsborough Avenue.
Hillsborough County Fire Rescue crews spent hours battling the blaze at the Coastal Wipers warehouse in Tampa Bay, which was classified as a two-alarm fire.
The fire quickly burned through the entire building causing a partial roof collapse and caused low visibility in the area due to heavy smoke.
Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokeswoman Nacole Revette said firefighters expected one of the side walls to collapse.
Fire Rescue crews fought the fire which shot through the steel roof and used foam to extinguish the blase which was fueled by the cloth products inside the warehouse.
Video courtesy of WTSP
No one was inside the building when the fire started in the early morning of May 25 and there has been no word yet as to what caused the fire but no injuries were reported.
The company that owns the building, Coastal Wipers, manufactures cleaning rags, which Revette said had unfortunately helped the fire to burn for so long.
The Tampa Bay business, which had been in operation according its website for three decades, also produced items as microfiber terry cloth, microfiber flat scrubbing floor mop pads, thermal blankets, towels, dusters, oil absorbents and disposables.
Coastal Wipers was awarded the 2012 Earth Charter US Small Business of The Year, with the Florida company currently employing 12 people who work out of the facility.
