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Thunderstorms Spark 911 Call Surge

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By CARLOS MONCADA and B.C. MANION

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 22, 2008

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 that 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 power was out who needed help switching to a spare oxygen bottle for her breathing problems, the report said.

In St. Petersburg, four people suffered minor injuries in an accident involving a Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority bus and an SUV, according to police and Pinellas County 911 dispatchers.

Police suspect, but had not determined, that the accident was weather-related.

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

Traffic signals at Henderson Boulevard and South Dale Mabry Highway were out, as were those at several other intersections, said 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.

In Lithia, A lightning strike was suspected of causing a gas leak Saturday, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue officials said.

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. had secured the leak, 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 for today around sunrise, followed by cloudy skies and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening, according to Rude.

The rain should taper off about 9 p.m., he said.

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