Girl playing with lighter in Fort Lauderdale burns 30 percent of body

Firefighters said a 9-year-old girl was playing with a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a lighter while hiding in the bathroom of her home when she suffered burns Thursday night in Fort Lauderdale. Fortunately, her parents heard her screams for help. Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Stephen Gollan said the flames burned about 30% of her body. Doctors with the Miami Burn Center at the Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center are treating her. Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue personnel responded to her home about 7 p.m. at Northwest Eighth Street near Northwest 17th Avenue in Fort Lauderdale's Durrs neighborhood. They found the alcohol, the lighter and the girl who suffered severe burns to her legs.
WPLG-TV ABC Local10.com - Miami & Fort Lauderdale

Greater Naples Fire Rescue approved for first responder bullet proof vests

A fire department in Collier County will soon have added protection for its first responders, and it’s not for safety against a fire. But it could be the difference between life and death on duty. Greater Naples Fire Rescue District received approval to spend $50,000 on bullet proof vests for firefighters and EMS Thursday. The fire department said it’s all because of the harsh reality of dangers on the streets. The vests will add protection on the job, and it will require some training for all personnel who use them. Fire Chief Kingman Schuldt told us that it was a proactive decision to ensure men and women first responders for his district get back home to their families safe every day.
WINK-TV WinkNews.com

Heavy rainfall putting a damper on wildfire season

Wildfires that spread throughout North Central Florida are no longer active with the help of mother nature. Just weeks ago wildfires were occurring locally and throughout the state of Florida. Shutting down interstates and causing evacuations and now things have changed with the recent increase in rainfall. Where there was once smoke and flames there is now rain. "May saw quite an uptake in wildfire activity here in North Central Florida as well as throughout the state, we had record-breaking heat as well as extremely dry conditions," stated Ludie Bond, Mitigation Specialist for the Florida Forest Service And now that we're in June we find ourselves in the opposite scenario. "As we got into June, we started to see more widespread rain some more soaking rain and that's really helped us to suppress the wildfires that got fired up in May," stated AJ Willy, TV20 meteorologist. Heavy rainfall has made the difference when controlling the wildfires.
WCJB-TV ABC 20 Gainesville

2 die after car plunges off overpass at Golden Glades Interchange, catches fire

A black Mercedes-Benz fell off an overpass, plummeted several dozen feet to the ground and landed on Interstate 95, catching fire. A tow truck driver told Local 10 News he was taking a nap under the overpass shortly after 2 a.m. Friday when he heard what sounded like an explosion, waking him up. He then saw a badly injured woman emerge from the wreckage, while a man was unresponsive. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the car was heading north on the northbound I-95 entrance ramp to the Golden Glades Park and Ride when it went over a concrete barrier, struck a large traffic sign and landed on its roof in the southbound lanes of the highway. Firefighters extinguished the flames from the burning car. The man and the woman inside the car were pronounced dead at the scene. FHP troopers identified the driver as 21-year-old Troy Jozef Andrews. His passenger's identity is being withheld as authoritis work to notify her family. The mangled and charred vehicle was eventually removed from the southbound lanes of I-95.
WPLG-TV ABC Local10.com - Miami & Fort Lauderdale

Police search for suspected arsonist after Cape Coral duplex fire

Investigators are searching for a suspected arsonist seen running from a Cape Coral duplex moments after it caught fire. Follow this story to get email or text alerts from NBC2 when there is a future article following this storyline. The fire sparked at home in the 500 block of 3rd Street Southwest just off Nicholas Parkway Wednesday night. According to a witness statement from the incident report, smoke was seen coming from the right side of the duplex and the front door was left wide opened. That same witness entered the duplex to see if someone was inside and reported seeing what looked like an "intentional fire" set in the hall.
WBBH-TV NBC 2 Fort Myers

5-year-old child ejected from Jeep after serious crash, woman facing charges

A New Port Richey woman is facing charges after Florida Highway Patrol troopers say she ran a red light, which caused a traffic crash. Natali Louise Howe, 25, is charged with two counts of felony child neglect and running a red light. A 5-year-old boy was thrown from the Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Howe, according to the FHP. Emergency Medical Services rushed the boy as a “trauma alert” after the crash at the intersection of Hudson and Little Road in Bayonet Point. The FHP said the Jeep crashed into the Kia Optima around 4:44 p.m. Thursday. An FHP crash report states the boy was sitting in the Jeep’s rear middle seat. Howe was driving four children in her car ages 9 months old, 1-year-old, 5 years old and 8 years old. She told law enforcement she does not remember what happened during the crash.
WTSP-TV 10 News

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Has New Ways to Warn Public of Emergencies

If there's a safety threat at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, there's now multiple ways for officials to warn visitors of the danger and to tell them what to do. Passengers and other visitors will also be able to reach out quickly to airport managers if they find themselves in the middle of an emergency. The changes are meant to prevent the mass confusion and chaos that forced the airport to close after five people were killed in the baggage claim area in January 2017. The shooter was captured in minutes, but passengers were stranded on the tarmac for hours. "Now we have a way of notifying everybody with a smart phone if there's an emergency," Mayor Mark Bogen said. "Now they've put communication devices throughout the airport."
Emergency Management

One person rushed to hospital after fire sparks in Lehigh Acres

A fire sparked inside a small strip mall on Lee Street Wednesday evening, sending one person to the hospital. Dozens of firefighters rushed to the warehouse to try to put out the flames, spending almost four hours on scene. All of the flames were coming from the garage part of Lee Transmission and Auto Repair and did not spread to any other units. Parts of Lee Street were shut down. Lehigh Fire Batallion Chief Chad Ketron said the fire was so intense, it caused parts of the building to bulge, paint to melt and some windows to shatter. “The paint that is gone...that’s all from the heat that was coming out this window,” Ketron said. “You can see how black and discolored it is. That shows you how much heat was being put off in this unit.”
WBBH-TV NBC 2 Fort Myers

Man in custody after cyclist fatally struck by car in sputhwest Miami-Dade

Authorities have a man in custody after he allegedly struck a bicyclist with his car and fled the scene in Southwest Miami-Dade. Florida Highway Patrol units responded to the scene along southbound U.S 1 and Southwest 260th Street, just after 3:30 a.m., Thursday. Cameras captured a body covered with a tarp as troopers worked the case. Officials said 33-year-old Nelson Rodriguez was behind the wheel of a white Chevy sedan when he struck the victim who was crossing the street. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue pronounced the victim dead on scene. Surveillance footage from a Chevron gas station at the intersection shows a car slowing down and coming to a stop before taking off once again.
WSVN-TV 7 News Miami-Dade

Arlington house fire displaces 2 adults, 3 kids and dog

The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department responded to a house fire in Arlington Wednesday that had also affected neighboring apartments, according to the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. JFRD said that the fire happened around 7:55 p.m. in the 1200 block of Bretta Street. Firefighters said that heavy fire could be seen and the fire was also affecting neighboring apartments on Arlington Road. Investigators have not released the cause of the fire, but First Coast News spoke to a few witnesses who say it was no accident. JFRD says Red Cross was called for two adults, three kids and a dog.
WTLV 12 NBC & WJXX 25 ABC - First Coast News

1 person hospitalized after Northwest Jacksonville house fire

One person was taken to the hospital after a fire broke out Wednesday afternoon at a home in Northwest Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department was called to the home on Norfolk Boulevard near Doncaster Avenue about 4:30 p.m. where they found smoke coming from the residence. Crews were able to quickly bring the flames under control, according to the fire department. They determined the fire started in the attic, though the cause remains unclear. Paramedics took one person to the hospital for treatment of injuries that are not life-threatening. A cat rescued from the home was treated on scene for smoke inhalation.
News Jax 4

2 dogs die, 1 rescued from duplex fire in southwest Miami-Dade County

Two dogs died in a fire Thursday morning at a southwest Miami-Dade County home. A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue battalion chief said the fire started in a duplex on Southwest 212th Street. Nobody was inside, but there were three dogs in a cage. Two of the dogs died, but a third was rescued and treated by firefighters. A fourth dog in the backyard wasn't hurt. The resident on the other side of the duplex got out safely. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
WPLG-TV ABC Local10.com - Miami & Fort Lauderdale