St. Andrew’s Towers Residents Mourn Life Lost From Fire

By Nicol Jenkins
Editor

Herb Ashe was known for his bright smile and friendly demeanor while living at St. Andrew’s Towers in Coral Springs.

Now he is also remembered for a tragic death. A fire broke out in his apartment and took his life at 81. The fire also left 12 senior residents injured and some 200 had to be evacuated from the assisted living retirement facility.

“He was the owner of the apartment and couldn’t get out of the apartment because of the smoke inhalation and he was wheelchair bound,” said Lt. Richard Antonini, Public Information Officer for the Coral Springs Fire Department.

“When we found the fire, the whole apartment was in flames. If anyone had been inside, there were virtually zero chances of survival.”

The fire broke out in Ashe’s apartment on the fourth floor in one of the towers Feb. 2 at 1 in the morning, according to Antonini. The fire was confined to one apartment but spread to upper floors. More than 200 elderly residents were evacuated to a nearby church and 12 were transported to Coral Springs Medical Center but have since been released.

There was only one fatality.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated by the state fire marshal, according to Antonini. He said the outcome could have been much worse if the community had not come together.

“When it involves the elderly it makes it more difficult. A lot of the residents had wheelchairs and medication they had to get to. For many it was hard to get down to the first floor, especially since the elevators weren’t working and many had wheelchairs and walkers,” he said. “The CERT team came out to help, the Red Cross, Coral Spring Fire Department and nearby departments helped and aided us in evacuating the people.”

Recognition

The Coral Springs City Commission recently recognized some employees for heroic efforts in assisting with the fire at St. Andrew’s Towers.

Staff evacuated approximately 200 residents with the assistance of the Coral Springs Police Department, CERT Team Members, Fire Dept. Auxiliary, Margate Fire Dept., Sunrise Fire Dept., Tamarac Fire Dept., N. Lauderdale Fire Dept., Pompano Fire Dept., and Lauderhill Fire Dept.

The residents were relocated to Parkside Elementary with the assistance of the American Red Cross and Broward County Mass Transit buses. Overall, there were twelve patients transported to the Coral Springs Medical Center up to 97 years old. The Red Cross also assisted residents with finding temporary housing.

“These individuals and their staff assisted the Fire Department in an outcome that was just tremendous,” said Fire Chief Mark Curran. “If it wasn’t for these people, I think it would have been a lot worse. This was a sterling example of how we executed our emergency medical plan.”

Coral Springs Mayor Scott Brook added, “These men and women were able to cooperate so well in the midst of chaos. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you.”

Mike DiTocco, CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Commander said 36 trained volunteers came out to aid in the evacuation. 

“It was very chaotic but organized chaos,” DiTocco said. “The CERT members did a phenomenal job. They did what needed to be done and helped those that needed it. I’m very proud of them. It could have been a lot worse if the fire spread.”

St. Andrew’s Towers Director Carol Nichols praised the community for saving residents.

“On behalf of the residents and the staff of St. Andrew’s Towers, we would like to express our deepest thank you to the men and women of both the Fire Department and the Police Department who responded to the fire in the early morning hours of February 2,” Nichols said. “There are no words to express our gratitude for the professionalism and compassion that was shown in nothing less than a horrifying situation that resulted in a tragic death of one of our residents. I firmly believe, however, that many lives were saved because of the brave efforts of those who responded that morning. It could have been so much worse.”

Remembering Herb

Herb Ashe was remembered by staff and residents through a moment of silence and prayer. For three years, Herb greeted residents with a smile and friendly hello, although he mainly kept to himself, according to Nichols. 

“He was a very friendly and nice man. He was always very pleasant, and I never saw him angry or never heard him complain,” she said.

Although he was at a later stage in life, Herb used to work at the post office and he kept active socializing with residents outdoors and traveling to St. Elizabeth’s, an adult care facility. His son Herb Jr. also lived with him at St. Andrew’s Towers. The son was his caregiver and the night of the fire was not in the apartment, according to Nichols.

The retirement community is slowly getting back to normal physically and emotionally. A construction company is working on restoring the fourth floor. In the meantime, those residents are relocated to nearby centers and others are adjusting to life after the tragedy.

“We wanted to make sure the building stayed on a regular schedule. Today we had bingo and an ice cream social,” she said. “We wanted to make sure everything went on as normal so residents feel comfortable and happy.”