By KEITH MORELLI
The Tampa Tribune

CARROLLWOOD - Firefighters extinguishing a house fire Wednesday afternoon found a body in the ashes when they sifted through the smoldering rubble.

No identification had been made, authorities said. Initial reports said that no one was home and no one was injured.

Firefighters quickly put out a house fire Wednesday afternoon, dowsing the blaze within minutes of their arrival, but their efforts weren’t enough to save the building from sustaining extensive damage, or to save the life of the victim.

Two alarms were sent out for the 2:18 p.m. fire at 4705 Whispering Wind Ave., because of the proximity of neighboring houses and the presence of some small propane tanks, said Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley.

“They called out the second alarm when they got to the scene,” he said, “but, they jumped on it so quick, they had it under control in 15 minutes.”

No other structures were damaged by the blaze that continued to belch out smoke long after the flames had been dowsed, he said. When firefighters arrived, fire could be seen reaching through the roof, he said.

Twenty-eight firefighters aboard 10 units from two fire stations responded to the alarm.

According to property appraiser records, the 2,000 square-foot, single story block home is owned by Anthony and Amber Sagardia.

The cause of the fire was under investigation Wednesday afternoon.

“The fire investigators are on their way out there,” he said about an hour after the alarm came in. “It’ll be a while before we know the cause.”

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