firefighters bat lipping a fire face off with a man throwing things out a second story wind dough. >> this is playing out right now. we're joined live from the scene. this is quite bazaar and very busy out there. what's going on. >> reporter: extremely bazaar. when we arrived on scene here a subject was hanging out of this window right here and was throwing items at firefighters. we later learned that around 3:30 this morning tampa fire responded to reports of a barricaded subject inside of an

a man threatening them with a hammer. crews were able to make entry. the man barricaded himself inside of a bathroom and put up furniture to barricade the door. this building has businesses on the bottom floor. we spoke with the woman who lives next door to this man. she had to evacuate with her children but still worried about her pets. >> very scary. my daughter is my son, he's okay but my daughter we probably lost 2 family members to us tonight unfortunately. . >> reporter: your pets? >> yeah, but, you know, we're out, we're safe and that's the main thing. . >> reporter: now, just a bit ago that man was taken away on a stretcher. we're told that he be taken to the hospital but most likely will be charged with

to bay that block is completely shut off by fire crews and tampa police as they continue to investigate this scene, but a bazaar scene out here. >> thank you so much. of course we'll stay on top of of breaking story all morning long. you can follow it on our breaking news app simply download it on your smart phone or tablet. lots of chilly, cooler weather makes. temperatures much cooler than yesterday and skies are completely dry. max defender 8 running quiet this morning. 62 degrees, that's compared to the low 70s that we had at this time yesterday. 59 in clearwater, 50 in crystal refer, but again you compare it to yesterday numbers across the region as much as 5 to as much as 22 degrees cooler than we were this time yesterday.

later this afternoon, lots of sunshine coming our way. we're going to preview the weekend. but first a check of the roads. >> a good look at our bay area bridges. let's take a look at the travel times as well. i-4 just a 16 commute. in the wesley chapel area we're up to speed with 11 minutes on your drive time. let's take a look at the skyway bridge, absolutely move across all of our bay area bridges. that's a look at weather and traffic. now, to the ashes of gatlinburg tennessee. there's more heartache this morning for families up in the great smoky mountains. the wildfires are now blamed for killing at least 11 people and crews are searching for those who are still missing. the fires left a path of destruction as you see in this drone video giving us a

a tampa couple narrowly escaped those wildfires and now for the first time we're hearing their story. >> they had moved to tennessee to start over but of course those raging wildfires had a change in plans for them and it burned their dream to the ground. starting over in life is never easy but starting over and facing this, this is awful. >> a tremendous story but they do have their morning. they moved from tampa to gatlinburg a year ago leaving behind friends and family here in the bay area to start that new chapter in their lives but on monday night wildfires drove them from their home with just seconds if not minutes to react. with flames shooting 30 feet into the air the sound of snapping trees all around them they grabbed 2 treasures they couldn't leave behind. they stuffed their dogs down their

down sky mountain. they made it to downtown gatlinburg. >> for a while we didn't think we were going to make it. we were starting to choke real bad and god sent an angel and she picked us up and gave us a ride here. and thank you very much if you see this. >> they ran without important medications. karen is a diabetic and gregg's job a resort is now fire. their daughter has established a gofundme account to help them. we will post that link to our website wfla.com. and there's another fire we're talking about making headlines, the cause of a massive fire that destroyed a bay area rec center, that building was covered under insurance. flames broke out

for more than an hour. the facility was undergoing a $2.5 million renovation thanks to a donation from tampa bay lightning owner. he is now working with the boys and girls club to rebuild. time 4:36 and right now a major announcement from president elect donald trump, a key cabinet member with tampa ties. he says he'll nominate a former head of the u.s. central command as our next secretary ryan hughes joins us now live. ryan, donald trump made this announcement in ohio. >> exactly. donald trump right now is on a so-called thank you tour and told a cheering crowd that he selected retired military general james mad dog maddis to lead the pentagon. listen here. >> we are going to appoint mad dog maddis as our secretary of

but we're not announcing it until monday so don't tell anybody. . mad dog. he's great. . >> trump placed and joked with the crowd asking them not to let out the secret until the official announcement expected on monday. he is a retired from 2010 to 2013. he has 44 years of service and held key commands in both afghanistan and iraq. coming up in our next half hour why there's controversy surrounding this pick and what some leading democrats plan to do. back to you. . >> all right. we'll keep that secret safe. don't you worry. well, the president elect is on a thank you tour to celebrate his november election win. his first stop indiana where he

moving to mexico. he went onto ohio. he says it's to thank voters for their support and he's outlining his planning of action when he takes office. president obama is going to be in tampa next week to talk about counter terrorism. he'll deliver a speech. he'll also meet with members of the military to thank them for their service. also this morning the president believes that wom just like men. the announcement came as more barrier to say military service are removed for women but despite the support the white house is insisting that president obama still believes in an all volunteer military and that is he says the way to go. 4:38 on this friday morning. felt so nice walking outside not muggy at all. >> cool and refreshing. truth a

morning. the pattern is looking picture perfect for this friday. look at your temperatures as we take you hour by hour 60 degrees this morning. we'll see the numbers get to around 75 for your afternoon high. the humidity lower and we'll see some passing fair weather clouds. right now your skies are mostly clear but we're looking at the clouds way out over the western gulf. some of those will work their way across our area in the day ahead. winds coming in out of the northeast and likely have a day but stay dry for today and for your upcoming weekend. saturday looking great 78 with sunshine a little bit more humid and it will be warmer by the time we hit sunday but at this point no rain to disrupt any of your weekend plans. we've got a pretty good drive right now. looking good out there. not perfect. we have some issues going on and i'm going to talk about them right now. overnight

of a delay through the area. we mentioned this earlier when we were out on scene live a little bit of police activity that has bay to bay blocked. this is a nice little grid portion so there are plenty of streets. but keep that in mind this morning no delays because there's not just that much traffic on the road right now. a sarasota bakery sweetening the deal when it comes to catching some vandals. they hit the bake house earlier this week and shot up the bakery with a bb gun causing about a thousand dollars in damage. well now the owner wants to find the culprits so she's offering a free cake every month for life to anyone who can help track down those responsible. i'm sure that got your attention.

them. >> that is my kind of reward. well, a woman was just trying to buy a burial plot. >> but in the process she was blind sided and scammed. coming up a consumer alert how a suspect tricked her and why their may be more victims out there. >> plus have you taken a trip on the cross bay ferry? what do the exact numbers look like and what do the rider think about it. we'll tell you coming up.

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this morning we're getting an idea of just how many people are using the cross bay for the first month of operation. they report more than 2,700 people took free trips and another 4,700 people bought full price one way tickets. the ferry is operating on a trial basis through april of next year to gage interest in a ferry permanently. a one-way ticket cost about 10 bucks but there's a pass that will cut the price in half. the governor is headed to miami today to give an update on the fight against the zika

week after the announcement that the northern portion of miami beach is now clear of the virus. but there are still concerns that zika fears could impact florida's busy winter tour season. the governor is expected to address that worry today and talk about what's next. the governor wants to give state law enforcement officers a raise. he's propose ago 5% pay increase for next year. about 4,000 state troopers, wildlife officers, fdle agents and several other agencies. some florida counties pay more than the state which has caused some state officers to jump to county jobs. this morning a convicted killer is waking up not in his prison cell but at home with his family. duley posted bond and walked out of jail on thursday, as you can see our cameras were rolling when it happened. he was convicted 3 years ago for shooting and killing his

boarding at their neighborhood basketball court. he is free on $100,000 bond while he appeals his conviction. this morning an 8 on your side consumer alert questions about a funeral home employee accused of selling a fake burial plot to an elderly woman. now, investigators want to know if he ripped off anyone else. he's charged with grand theft and a fake burial plot. when the victim called to get her money back she claim she was given the runaround. >> i wrote him a check for $2,410 and he gave me a receipt. if it weren't for that receipt i would have been just out of luck. >> oh, that receipt was just the proof they needed. in fact the

concerned that he could strike again or perhaps already has. he is now working at the garden of memories funeral home in tampa. if you know anything about this case contact the sheriffs office. now, 8 on your side special coverage cuba mourns castro. many cuban americans are celebrating the death of fidel castro, but in cuba many remember him as a father figure. up with a tampa man witnessing this part of cuba's history. >> reporter: this morning the funeral processing of fidel castro continues to wind its way across this country on his long long journey to his final resting place. castro's remains are being pulled by a simple green military jeep. as thousands and

this woman tells us she's very sad because he was the leader of the revolution, a figure for all of us. as it passes some cry openly in the streets. earlier a man from tampa came out to see the processing begin its journey . >> so i just started taking pictures and video and i was very surprised at the response as he came by. there were people crying, p >> reporter: he's here as part of a tour group with the tampa bay history center. . >> and we'll continue our reporting from cuba today and tomorrow. you can watch those reports exclusively right here on news channel 8. time now 4:48. weather and traffic on the 8s. >> looking great. a little bit of a breeze at another. winds generally coming out of the north and northeast this

defender 8 scanning the skies not a drop of rain out there and we were expecting a picture perfect friday ahead. so find some time to get outdoors and enjoy it. maybe take the lunch hour outside. 70 at noon, light breezes and a few clouds by 3 p.m. at 75, 52 in inverness. maybe get a light jacket especially if you live north of i-4. it's generally low 60s south of i-4. 40s in the panhandle this morning. so our fo front way to the south, that's where the rain will stay for today. we've got drier air continuing to settle into our region. so looking beautiful as we go into today and even into tomorrow a clear start, cooler start, and then the next weather system starts to develop out west. we'll be tracking that over the next couple of days. our forecast keeps it in the 80s by sunday, better rain chances with a series of systems into next week. time for traffic on the 8s

start with the good news. looks great not having any issues but a lot of police activity out here and this is actually on bay to bay. it's blocked off completely. so i'm keeping an eye on this. we're live on the scene and we'll have more what's happening here coming up later. but keep this in mind. you can get by just fine there's church avenue all these different streets and that will help you out. that's a look and traffic. this is not our ordinary lamp post. >> it does a lot more than light the streets at night. >> how a lamp post saved a woman's life. check it out. we'll show you the rest of this incredible video next on news

. the man who landed on the moon with armstrong in 1969 was saved 86 years old and seen right here smiling and stable in a hospital bed. he arrived at the south pole for an adventure tour but doctors say the problem came when fluid built up on his lungs. that's when a plane on skis landed to evacuate him for treatment. >> he still has that sense of adventure. well, a woman was saved from

this is an intersection, that white vehicle making a left turn and a black sedan hits it. did you see what was walking behind the post. that is a woman there in the red jacket. she falls down to the ground. hops back up. incredibly no one involved was . how about that? >> yeah, not her time to go. well, this police mug shot is one of a check it out. the man brought his bird to a courthouse and he remained outside the courthouse during his owner's hearing but when he landed in jail for violating terms of his release well the 2 jail birds posed for mug shots together. >> you know the bird is like hey, i had nothing to do with

well, one kayak took an unexpected guest for the ride of a lifetime. check it out. he says he was kayaking in california when the bold otter swam up next to his boat and hopped in. they took a joy ride around the harbor until he showed his new friend off the kayak. lots more to come today. stay with us. weather and trafn

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. emoji man all smiles today. some passing fair weather clouds, temperature wise seasonal today 75 but those numbers really start warming up through the end of the weekend and into next week ahead of some rain chances as we go into next

this morning? >> we've got some issues out in sarasota, university parkway is blocked in both directions. keep that in mind and a little bit of activity on i-75 but you

. breaking news at this hour in south tampa, an apartment fire leads to a bazaar stand off with a man inside threatening firefighters. we are live right now a including how crews got the man out. >> and new video this morning, a drone captures the devastation in gatlinburg tennessee. the wildfire death toll is climbing this morning, coming up how a tampa couple escaped with their lives. >> and caught on camera a tornado touches down near a school sending debris flying as part of a wave of severe weather sweeping across the southeast but the big question this