Fifteen residents were displaced after a Tuesday morning apartment fire.
First responders were called to Gulf Villa Apartments, located in the 1200 block of College Parkway, at 10:45 a.m., said Chief Jonathan Kanzigg with Midway Fire District.
Kanzigg said responders arrived at the fire within 30 seconds of the call.
The fire station is 200 feet from the complex,” Kanzigg said. “When I got there, there was moderate smoke coming from the second floor and 10 minutes later it became heavy smoke.”
The fire at the two-story complex marks the second candle to be extinguished on Santa Rosa County’s fire safety tree, which is part of the “Keep Your Holidays Bright” campaign.
Two residents had to be woken up by firefighters and were medically evaluated on the scene and released, Kanzigg said.
Other residents, 10 adults and five children, also lost their homes, and the American Red Cross provided assistance. Two units of the eight-unit building had extensive fire and water damage, two units had extensive water damage and four units had moderate smoke damage.
Three of the units were not occupied.
Kanzigg added that first responders also rescued two large snakes from a complex that had escaped from their glass cage. The pet reptiles’ names are not known.
Gulf Breeze, Holley-Navarre, Avalon, Bagdad, Florosa Fire, Pensacola Beach, Brent and Navarre Beach fire departments also responded.
The fire was extinguished by 11:35 a.m.
Kanzigg said he believes the fire was started in a heating unit, but the State Fire Marshal is investigating the blaze.