Pinellas County investigating possible sinkhole - WFLA-TV Newschannel 8

Pinellas County investigating possible sinkhole

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PINELLAS COUNTY, FL -

Firefighters were on scene at 114 Harbor Drive in Palm Harbor Tuesday morning after receiving a distress call about a possible sinkhole, according to Pinellas County Fire Rescue report.

Firefighters told us a caregiver of 89-year-old Elsie Hall called 911 after she heard the house crack.

Deborah Wiksten said her main concern was to get Hall out of the house.

"As I was walking over the floor the windows started shaking on the other side of the house," she said adding that it was very scary.

Hall was in bed when the rescue teams arrived and asked the women to leave the house. 

District Chief Dan Zinge, Palm Harbor Fire Rescue, said it appeared the tile separated from the concrete floor and it caused an explosive sound that Wiksten heard.

Zinge said the building inspector determined the house is safe. But he believed Wiksten did the right thing by calling authorities after what happened in Seffner last week.

"Given the fact that what happened in Seffner is in everyone's memory given the catastrophic loss of life we want to make sure that doesn't happen again here," he said.

Hall's neighbor Barb Owens who lived down the block said she was relieved that all was well.

"Its scary, but we shouldn't be having sinkholes on the water, so I was surprised when I heard sinkhole on the block," she said.

 

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