Fire at Quails Bluff Leaves Families Homeless

An early-morning fire that left Lake Wales firefighters battling the blaze until dawn left a gaping hole in a local apartment building, and in the lives of 23 residents of the building.

At least eight units appear to have been heavily affected by flames, smoke, and water. The hours of flames burned away much of the roof of the building, leaving melted siding and charred timbers

The American Red Cross is currently providing assistance to nine families, a spokesperson for the the organization told the press Monday.

The fire began shortly after 2:30 am Saturday morning at the Quails Bluff Apartments, located at 15101 Quails Bluff Circle, adjacent to Burns Avenue and across the street from Lake Wales High School.

Crews battled the fire until around 8:00 a.m. Firefighters evacuated residents from six units, and found no one home at two others affected. No one was injured in the blaze.

No cause has been announced, and the State Fire Marshall is conducting an investigation at this time.

Quails Bluff is a scenic complex on a steeply-sloped site. The complex was heavily damaged and completely evacuated following Hurricane Charley in 2004, and was completely reconstructed at that time.