Inspector to determine whether Vista Royale building needs to be condemned after fire

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A condominium building at Vista Royale will be inspected Tuesday after being damaged by fire Saturday, according to the community's administration office.

Glenn Sherlock, the condo's maintenance supervisor, said the inspection will determine whether the building will be condemned.

Some residents displaced by the fire were relocated to a local hotel, he said.

The blaze happened in a building in the first block of Spring Lake Drive, just off U.S. 1 and south of Fourth Street.

More: Fire displaces several Vista Royale residents in Indian River County

Indian River County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Cory Richter said a 911 call about the fire was made about 2 a.m. Saturday. All residents were evacuated and were not injured, he said.

Sherlock said he arrived on scene while the building was engulfed in flames.

"When I got here, that was just starting to burn, and it just took off," he said. "Just the whole top was burning up, fire engines everywhere.

"I mean, it was going."

More: Indian River corrections deputy charged with DUI drove into trees, Florida troopers report

Sherlock said most residents in the building had been evacuated to a nearby parking lot by the time he arrived.

The Sheriff's Office lauded efforts by three deputies who arrived on scene ahead of Fire Rescue officials and helped evacuate six people from their units. Deputies Cameron White and Romeo Santana and Sgt. Jeremy Shepherd entered the blazing building and carried out some residents, said Maj. Eric Flowers, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office.

White was treated on scene by rescue officials for smoke inhalation.

"Had Deputy White, Deputy Santana and Sergeant Shepherd not arrived on scene as fast as they did, we would have had casualties in that fire," Sheriff Daryl Loar said in a news release.

The North Treasure Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross assisted residents displaced by the blaze.

The state Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of the fire.

More: Search turns up more than 150 grams of narcotics in Vero Beach

Stuart condo fire

The blaze was the first of two major fires in condominium buildings on the Treasure Coast over the Memorial Day weekend.

More: Stuart condominiums basically destroyed; early indications are cigarette started blaze

A fire in a 10-unit condominium building at Cedar Pointe Villages in Stuart Monday night sent two people to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

The fire basically destroyed the building and may have been caused by a cigarette, according to fire officials.