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Parole Office Among 16 Businesses Destroyed In Office Park Fire
POSTED: 1:16 pm EDT June 22,
2008
UPDATED: 3:39 pm EDT June 23,
2008
LEESBURG, Fla. -- The investigation into a fire that nearly burned an entire office complex in Leesburg wrapped up late Monday morning. The owner of the building, with more than a dozen business renters, will have to rebuild.
SLIDESHOW: Images From The Scene
RAW VIDEO: Flames Leap Into Air As Fire Destroys Building
"My wife was hysterical, she had to leave," said Gordon Oldham, the man who owns the building.He watched most of it burn to the ground."There wasn't anybody in there. That's the first thing," Oldham said. "I'm concerned about my people who were the tenants there. They are good people."All that remained Monday after Sunday's fire was rubble from the 24,000 square-foot building at North 3rd Street and West Oak Terrace (see map). For the 16 businesses who invested time and money to grow into profitable enterprises, the loss is a major setback."Titles, stock/bonds, kids' college things, birth certificates," said business owner Rusty Young.Young lost everything in Sunday's fire that destroyed the Leesburg office park, everything but his important documents. He stored them in a fire-proof filing cabinet."We just try to save whatever we can, considering the circumstances," said Chief Gary Keiser of the Leesburg Fire Department. "We realize these records are important to the state and to control certain people who are in the population who might need to be supervised."A few doors down, Renee Toffel sifted through the rubble as well."I had purchased a large quantity of forever stamps. Obviously, in my business, I use a lot of stamps," she said.Toffel had her tax preparation business based out of the complex. The fire destroyed her clients' receipts, bank statements and other important papers and she didn't have insurance."We'll have insurance next time probably. My biggest concern is the loss of people's papers," she said.But the fire didn't destroy everything. Workers at the Leesburg Probation and Parole Office removed about 800 case files belonging to adult felony offenders before the fast-moving flames made their way to their side of the complex.The Department of Corrections said all offenders will be reporting to the office in Tavares until further notice."There will be continuity and supervision, so the public should not be concerned that the offenders will not be supervised," explained Barbara Scala, regional director for Department of Corrections.The building was constructed in the 1970s and had no sprinklers or alarm system and there were no firewalls in the attic, where the fire started. The State Fire Marshal's Office was unsure what caused the fire in the attic to start and the extent of damage could make determining that difficult, but ruled out foul play. Damage was estimated at $1.5 million.
"My wife was hysterical, she had to leave," said Gordon Oldham, the man who owns the building.He watched most of it burn to the ground."There wasn't anybody in there. That's the first thing," Oldham said. "I'm concerned about my people who were the tenants there. They are good people."All that remained Monday after Sunday's fire was rubble from the 24,000 square-foot building at North 3rd Street and West Oak Terrace (see map). For the 16 businesses who invested time and money to grow into profitable enterprises, the loss is a major setback."Titles, stock/bonds, kids' college things, birth certificates," said business owner Rusty Young.Young lost everything in Sunday's fire that destroyed the Leesburg office park, everything but his important documents. He stored them in a fire-proof filing cabinet."We just try to save whatever we can, considering the circumstances," said Chief Gary Keiser of the Leesburg Fire Department. "We realize these records are important to the state and to control certain people who are in the population who might need to be supervised."A few doors down, Renee Toffel sifted through the rubble as well."I had purchased a large quantity of forever stamps. Obviously, in my business, I use a lot of stamps," she said.Toffel had her tax preparation business based out of the complex. The fire destroyed her clients' receipts, bank statements and other important papers and she didn't have insurance."We'll have insurance next time probably. My biggest concern is the loss of people's papers," she said.But the fire didn't destroy everything. Workers at the Leesburg Probation and Parole Office removed about 800 case files belonging to adult felony offenders before the fast-moving flames made their way to their side of the complex.The Department of Corrections said all offenders will be reporting to the office in Tavares until further notice."There will be continuity and supervision, so the public should not be concerned that the offenders will not be supervised," explained Barbara Scala, regional director for Department of Corrections.The building was constructed in the 1970s and had no sprinklers or alarm system and there were no firewalls in the attic, where the fire started. The State Fire Marshal's Office was unsure what caused the fire in the attic to start and the extent of damage could make determining that difficult, but ruled out foul play. Damage was estimated at $1.5 million.
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