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Urban Brush Fire Should Raise Alarms, Officials Say

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TBO.com

Published: March 10, 2009

Updated: 03/10/2009 10:18 pm

A brush fire Tuesday afternoon caused $100,000 in damage to a west Tampa house and injured three people, including a Tampa Fire Rescue captain, authorities say.

The chaotic scene wasn't in a rural area where brush fires are perceived to normally spark, Tampa Fire Rescue Capt. Bill Wade said.

The flames burned within city limits.

"This is a rare event in the city proper," Wade said. "But this incident shows that a brush fire in the city is possible."

Paramedics treated a woman who lived in the house at 3421 W. Kathleen St. for smoke inhalation. Lourdes Fornes was treated at the scene, Wade said. Her son, homeowner Pedro Fornes, 53, was not hurt.

Tampa Fire Rescue Capt. Injured his leg while fighting the fire, but was released from a local hospital, Wade said. Brian Livesay, an employee of a business next door, was treated for chest pains apparently caused by the smoke and taken to a local hospital.

Tampa Fire Marshals Office investigators give this account of what happened about 5 p.m.:

Carlos Diaz was entering Nick's Smokehouse, which is adjacent to Fornes' house, when he noticed the fire behind the business. Diaz, 32, told Livesay and another employee, Hilbert Gibbs, about the flames.

The co-workers tried to put out the blaze with water from a garden hose, but the flames quickly spread from dry brush to a fence, then to a tree. The heat and the flames set Fornes' home ablaze.

Fornes and his mother escaped from the home and the flames were under control in about 30 minutes.
An unidentified piece of flaming material started the brushfire, Wade said.

Wade said Fornes owns the home free and clear but does not have insurance.

"It's a small tragedy for that west Tampa neighborhood," Wade said.

After extinguishing the brush fire, crews went to other homes and installed 12 smoke alarms in residences that didn't have any, Wade said.

Wade said it doesn't matter whether people live in the country or in the city because the state is in the midst of its dry season. Many municipalities and communities have banned outdoor burning, he said.

"The caution flag is up."

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