A fire early Tuesday morning in Sulphur Springs has cost the lives of a young man and three dogs.
A neighbor of Terrance McGriff called 9-1-1 to report seeing smoke coming from the roof of his house in the 8400 block of North 16th Street.
When firefighters arrived and entered the house, they found McGriff, 30, on the floor near the front door.
Tampa Fire Rescue personnel performed CPR on McGriff, and he was transported to a local hospital in critical condition. On Wednesday evening, he was pronounced dead.
His mother, Anita McGriff, said Terrance was brain dead, and it had come down to the family deciding to take him off life support.
“As far as the fire is concerned, he constantly called his landlord to complain about a problem with his stove, but he never came to fix it.”
According to Tampa Fire Rescue, the cause of the fire was a pot left on the stove.
Mrs. McGriff said she has three other children, and they are all very depressed about losing their brother.
Terrance McGriff grew up in Elmira, New York, and moved to Tampa in 1998 after living in Clearwater for a while. He wasn’t married, and was a chronic diabetic.
“His diabetes was a big problem, and he spent a lot of time in and out of the hospital,” said Mrs. McGriff.
“He moved into his house two years ago, and we’d all go by to check on him. He was supposed to be moving in with his brother the morning of the fire. He had only come back to the house to gather his belongings, and his brother was supposed to pick him up Tuesday morning.
“Terrance was a beautiful person, and although he experienced problems where he was living, he managed to keep himself out of trouble and was always respectful.”
McGriff’s father, Aaron McGriff, said the entire family is outraged, and he’s spoken to the city’s Code Enforcement about the faulty stove in his son’s house.
“He constantly called the landlord telling him the stove needed to be replaced, but he never came. Terrance lost his Section 8 because he couldn’t afford his high electric bills. It was because the stove would stay on all the time.
“I actually went over to Terrance’s house and did a lot of work so he could have a safe place to live.”
Mr. McGriff said officials with Code Enforcement have told them they will investigate the incident, and have a report ready for the family in a few days.
“This tragedy could have been worse if there had been more people living in the house. This should really have never happened, and it wouldn’t have if the landlord had taken the time to replace the stove.”
The McGriff family is asking for help with funeral arrangements for Terrance as he was not insured at the time of his death.
