Hillsborough County Fire Rescue will be placing several juveniles and their parents in an intervention program designed to educate, train, and show the consequences of fire as the result of what HCFR categorized as a large accidental brush fire in FishHawk.
A total of 20 units and about 40 Hillsborough County Fire Rescue personnel along with Florida Forestry firefighters responded to the brush fire on Friday, afternoon, threatening homes and nearby Bevis Elementary School.
According to HCFR spokes person Ronnie Rivera, the first 911 call came in around 3 p.m., immediately followed by a second alarm due to the danger the surrounding structures were facing.
“A total of 10 acres were involved,” Rivera said. “Because of the quick action of all the fire rescue crews on scene, the fire was stopped at the fence line located about 20-30 feet from a few homes.”
It took fire crews about 1 hour to have the fire under control and, while there were no injuries reported, the fire did damage the fences of two homes which were made out of PVC that burned and melted from the exposure to heat and flames.
A Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Fire investigation unit was also called to the scene to investigate the cause of the fire.
Witnesses stated that they saw a few teenagers playing with fireworks in the area affected by the fire prior to the incident, firefighters said.
After a complete investigation Hillsborough County Fire Investigator determined that the cause of the fire was indeed the result of fireworks.
“The juveniles were playing with fireworks in the area and some of those fireworks landed in a brush area that was very dry,” Rivera said.
The investigation continues.
