Second fire at embattled Tymber Skan condo might be arson

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Firefighters spent several hours Thursday morning fighting a blaze at a condo in the embattled Tymber Skan community, and officials said they believe it may have been set on purpose.

The vacant building was slated to be bulldozed, officials said.

Emergency personnel responded to the fire at about 3 a.m. and found three attached condos burning.

Crews from five different stations responded to the fire at the vacant condos and were able to knock down the blaze with the help of a ladder truck used to spray water from above.

Firefighters remained at the scene to make sure the fire didn’t reignite.

Officials had not entered the buildings due to safety concerns, but they were confident that no one was inside, Orange County Fire Rescue Capt. Wendy Gross said.

“It is a vacated building. None of the crews are going to be going inside because it is not safe," she said. "We are very cautious when we go in. If there is any chance that we do have occupants inside, then we will go in and make sure they are safe and accounted for."

Because there was no electricity running to the condos involved in the fire, officials said arson was a possibility.

About 40 people live inside Tymber Skan. It's a place that looks more like a war zone than a condominium complex.

Many of the owners have abandoned the property and have not been found.

“We have pending legal matters that we have to attend to first. Before we are willing to spend money rehabbing and also we still have squatters here,” said homeowner’s association president Lorenzo Pinkston.

Another fire was started in July, and there are more than a half-dozen buildings that had already been burned.

Seventeen condos have been bulldozed and 32 remain.

“There's only seven squatters that are left compared to when we took over there were over 600 people that we know about,” said Pinkston.

Pinkston said he has suspicions as to who might have set the fires and the motivation.

Cox Media Group