University responds after fire destroys lab hub at USF’s Marine Science College

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A fire tore through the marine science labs building at the University of South Florida’s St. Petersburg campus Saturday, causing significant damage to one of the university’s premier research facilities just as students entered finals week — and as the broader USF community continues to grapple with the murders of two doctoral students discovered within the last two weeks.

University officials believe lightning may have ignited the blaze, though an investigation remains ongoing.

“We have some footage, obviously, that shows a lightning strike on the building but there is a lot of investigation that needs to go on,” said Tom Frazer, dean of USF’s College of Marine Science.

The fire was largely contained to the marine science labs building’s concrete roof and attic space, but efforts to extinguish the flames — which required pumping in both domestic and bay water — caused extensive water damage throughout the building’s interior, according to the college.

The marine science labs building serves as the college’s primary hub. Frazer said the college’s marine science program typically has an average of 100 students or so in total. The dean emphasized that the consequences for research operations could be severe.

“We’re concerned that obviously very sensitive equipment in the building has been affected in our laboratory, as well as people’s computers and other types of technology,” Frazer said.

Hazmat crews responded to the scene as Frazer said the college’s chemical inventory was secured and its contents communicated to firefighters. Officials said no danger is posed to the public, though cleanup and environmental monitoring continued into Sunday.

Research animals housed for marine science work were not in the building at the time of the fire. They are kept separately at the Knight Oceanographic Research Center and were unaffected. A secondary generator also ensured uninterrupted water flow to the facility for approximately one hour during the incident, Frazer said.

“Even with a slight disruption for a little bit, about an hour or so, we have a secondary generator for power that made sure there was no change in water flow or anything like that,” he said.

With spring semester finals beginning this week, university administrators said they are working to accommodate affected students and staff.

USF President Moez Limayem addressed the timing in a statement this weekend. It read in part: “This situation adds to what has already been a challenging time for our university community, and I know this can be a stressful week with final exams and the end of a semester,” he said.

Despite the scope of the damage, Frazer expressed confidence in the college’s ability to recover.

“A globally recognized research program has been significantly affected, but we’re a very resilient group,” he said. “I think that we are going to build back certainly better and stronger than we were before. I have all the confidence in the world that our people can do that.”

The fire compounds an already painful stretch for the USF community following the deaths of two doctoral students, Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, whose bodies were found last month. That investigation is ongoing.

The university said students can continue to access TimelyCare’s 24/7 telehealth services as well as in-person counseling on campus. Faculty and staff have been directed to the Employee Assistance Program.