USF Saint Petersburg Lab Fire: Devastation for Marine Science

0:00On May 3rd, a massive fire tore through the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg's Marine Science Laboratory this Saturday, and over, 80-year-old building central to campus research. Flames shot through the roof at 147th Avenue South, turning into a second alarm blaze that firefighters from St. Petersburg fire rescue, battled hard, dozens of crews rushed in, shutting down streets, and setting up collapse zones while thick black smoke rose high enough to see for miles. The building was fully evacuated with no injuries reported, but officials flagged it as a potential hazmat issue from all the store chemicals in the labs. Students and staff stood by and shocked, mourning what could be decades of irreplaceable work on hurricanes, red tide, fish ecology, and marine samples. Collected over years of field work, faculty checked in on each other, calling it total devastation to entire careers built in those labs. Those were still on scene, fighting the flames late into the evening, with winds luckily

1:00blowing smoke away from dorms and boats nearby. The call stays under investigation as damage assessments begin. This hit hits hard for science folks grinding in the field, and we'll keep eyes on updates as they come in on the real losses.