Port St. Lucie 25 years after fire: Officials discuss what has been done for prevention

  • Source: WPTV NBC 5 West Palm Beach
  • Published: 04/16/2024 12:00 AM

VIDEO: April 15, 1999, the city of Port St. Lucie was in flames. More than 40 homes were destroyed, but miraculously no one was killed. Inside Fire Station 15 in Fort Pierce, there is a picture of a moment frozen in time. It is of a raging inferno, where you can see a tunnel of smoke across a busy road. Lt. Chris Longo snapped the photo and not long after, had to escape the flames. “We had to hide under our truck, because it advanced and went over the top of us," Longo said. "We hid under the truck and it literally caught some of the areas of the truck on fire, we literally had to put our own truck out." In an area roughly bordered by Interstate 95 and the Florida Turnpike, more than 40 homes were destroyed. Joel Dramis’ home was nearly one of them. “I remember my wife calling me saying there was a lot of smoke, do I know what’s going on?" he said.



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