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Storm Surges Emergency Calls

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By B.C. MANION | The Tampa Tribune,
and CARLOS MONCADA | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 21, 2008

Updated: 06/21/2008 07:16 pm

TAMPA - Strong thunderstorms that swept through large swaths of the Tampa Bay area Saturday swamped Tampa fire rescue dispatchers with weather-related calls for 3 1/2 hours.

From 10 a.m. to about 1:30 p.m., the 911 center handled more than 60 storm-related calls, according to a Tampa Fire Rescue public information report. It said dispatchers normally handle that many calls during an eight-hour shift.

Among the calls were nine traffic accidents, none of them serious, the report said. Dispatchers also fielded eight reports of sparking electrical transformers on power poles, one report of a downed power line, two reports of structure fires that were unfounded and 16 automatic fire alarms.

One of the calls involved a woman whose electrical power was out and needed help switching to a spare oxygen bottle for her breathing trouble, the report said.

In St. Petersburg, four people suffered minor injuries in an accident involving a Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority bus and a sport utility vehicle, according to police and Pinellas County 911 dispatchers. Police suspect, but had not determined, that the accident was weather-related.

The weather also played havoc with traffic lights, according to Tampa police.

Traffic lights at Henderson Boulevard and South Dale Mabry Highway were out, as were those at several other intersections, according to Lt. Charles Courtoy, a Tampa police spokesman. He could not specify the number of intersections with traffic light outages.

Courtoy said police were being dispatched to help alleviate traffic problems.

A lightning strike also was suspected of causing a gas leak in a Lithia neighborhood Saturday, according to Hillsborough County Fire Rescue officials.

Officials evacuated three homes in the Mission Oak Drive and Kingbird Manor Drive area. Residents were allowed back into their homes about an hour and a half later, after Tampa Electric Co. secured the leak, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue officials said.

In Brandon, an oak tree fell on top of a car, said Richard Rude, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Ruskin.

At MacDill Air Force Base, winds gusting up to 43 mph were recorded. Nickel-size hail was reported in Town 'N Country, Rude added.

There were numerous reports of downed power lines in Lake Wales and Fort Meade.

Showers were expected to continue today around sunrise, Rude said, followed by cloudy skies and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. The rains should taper off around 9 p.m., he said.

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