Tampa hardware store destroyed by fire

TAMPA – A three-alarm fire reduced a local landmark to a pile ofashes late Sunday afternoon as flames engulfed Tampa 's oldest independent hardware store.
Fire crews say the flames spread quickly through Tampa Bay Hardwareon North Nebraska Avenue . Thick, black smoke could be seen billowing into the sky for milesaround the store, which opened in 1941 and is said to be the oldestof its kind in the Bay Area.
"I'm sad to see it happen," said John Autore, a longtimecustomer. "That's a tragedy."
Firefighters got the flames under control by about 7 p.m., but theone-story building was reduced to a pile of rubble.
"This fire probably spread pretty quickly," said CaptainBill Wade of Tampa Fire Rescue. "As you could imagine a hardware store—there were quitea few flammable items. Paints and various flammable liquids—so this fire probablygot a pretty good hold before the fire crews were called."
More than 50 firefighters spent hours blasting water and trying toput down the flames, but Wade says it wasn't easy.
"Fire crews had several challenges besides the building beingon fire," said Wade. "They had several propane tanks in the area, power linescoming down. There were nearby houses—it was a very dangeroussituation."
Tampa Bay Hardware was known for antique tools, toys, and the kindof customer service that kept people coming back for decades.
"Every kind of hardware, plumbing, tools that you could thinkof, because these homes are from 1920," said Autore. "So they had a lot of things you couldn't buy at a regularhardware store."
Friends say the store's owner poured his heart into his business. In fact, they say that's part of the reason it survived so manyyears. Now, they hope it can be rebuilt.
Fire crews aren't sure yet what caused the blaze to ignite, butinvestigators will return to the scene Monday. Firefighters remained there overnight making sure no hotspotsreignited.
No injuries were reported in the fire, and all roads surroundingthe burned building have now been reopened.