Lightning Strike Caused Fire That Destroyed Florida Marine Research Lab Containing Rare Antarctic Specimens, Investigators Say

A lightning onslaught sparked a occurrence astatine nan University of South Florida College of Marine Science Laboratory past month, destroying decades of investigation and tens of millions of dollars successful equipment, assemblage officials said.

The fire, which dispersed quickly crossed nan building’s woody roof, has forced much than 150 researchers, unit members and students to relocate their programs and activity impermanent laboratory spaces to proceed their work, FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported.

The betterment effort faces important challenges owed to nan methods utilized to extinguish nan fire. Firefighters utilized brackish h2o to conflict nan flames, which ruined astir each nan precocious instrumentality wrong nan facility, including specialized sonar information vehicles utilized for water mapping.

Although immoderate unit managed to rescue their data, many look nan nonaccomplishment of irreplaceable specimens.

Steven Murawski, a professor astatine nan college, told FOX 13 Tampa Bay that he salvaged astir of his individual research, which is now being kept successful acold retention and trailers successful nan parking lot. However, different scientists must return to nan section to cod caller samples, immoderate of which primitively came from locations arsenic acold distant arsenic Antarctica.

The contiguous attraction for nan module has shifted to securing nan specialized devices required for information analysis.

Murawski told nan outlet that section entities and national agencies person stepped successful to supply impermanent workspace, and that nan National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and The Hub, a installation wrong nan St. Petersburg Innovation District, are accommodating displaced personnel.

“Our existent roadblock now is getting backmost to getting nan instruments we request successful bid to analyse those samples,” Murawski said. “And it’s beautiful critical, because a batch of these samples are being collected connected comparatively ample grants by nan national government.”

University officials are awaiting an appraisal from their security supplier to find if nan building tin beryllium salvaged aliases if it must beryllium demolished.

If nan assemblage has to rebuild nan installation entirely, Murawski said that it would apt return years earlier researchers could safely return to nan site. University administrators person not confirmed erstwhile nan last structural determination will beryllium made.

In consequence to nan incident, section organization members person raised much than $500,000 to assistance nan assemblage pinch its semipermanent betterment efforts, according to assemblage professors.