LAKELAND, Fla. — One person died and three people were hospitalized early Sunday after a senior-living facility in Lakeland caught fire, the Lakeland Fire Department said.
The fire ignited shortly after 4:30 a.m. on the fourth floor of Bella Vista Manor and Vista Villas at East Bella Vista Street and North Lake Avenue, said Lakeland Battalion Chief Mike Williams.
Firefighters worked with police officers to evacuate nearly 40 residents from the five-story, independent-living facility, Williams said.
"We had police officers in stairwells," Williams said. "Firefighters were handing victims from the hallway to the stairwell and the Lakeland Police Department was actually carrying people down."
Once the fire was extinguished, firefighters discovered a body on the fourth floor, Williams said.
The person wasn't publicly identified as officials haven't notified a relative. Three others were hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
Officials said the building doesn't have fire sprinklers.
"This is a very very old building," Williams said. "Unless there's a major rehab or construction, that wont come into code."
Residents were sheltered in an adjoining building.
It's not known what sparked the blaze.