Discarded cigarette leads to massive fire at northwest Miami-Dade County home

VIDEO: Eight people, including two children, were displaced from their home in northwest Miami-Dade Sunday after a massive fire broke out. Helmet camera video from Miami-Dade firefighters shows flames fully engulfing the back of the home near Northwest 30th Street and 100th Avenue. First responders confirmed that the fire erupted just before 2 p.m. Sunday. “A little overwhelmed, a little stressed out, and honestly, going through a lot of emotions that I don’t know how to deal with,” Francisco Diaz, who lives at the home, said. Diaz, 35, lives in the back portion of the home and explained to Local 10 News how the fire started. “I was walking the dogs, and I flicked my cigarette into the yard, and I walked to the front, and all of the sudden, I see fire,” he said. Diaz said he heard a “pop,” and suddenly that fire quickly spread to items in the backyard and to his back bedroom.
WPLG-TV ABC 10 Miami

14 displaced after fire ignites apartment building in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood

VIDEO: Fierce flames forced more than a dozen residents out of an apartment building in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood. City of Miami Fire Rescue units responded to multiple calls of a fire at an apartment complex along the 900 block of Southwest Seventh Street, in the Riverview subdivision, just after 3 a.m. Saturday. Crews arrived to find the three-story, six-unit structure with heavy smoke and flames showing on the second and third floors. “Rather quickly, they made an initial fire attack, and during the search, they encountered that the first floor was actually unoccupied — some of the windows were boarded up — so, initially it was thought that the building was unoccupied,” said Miami Fire Rescue Lt. Pete Sanchez, “but then, after further investigation, they found that there were residents on the second and third floors.”
WSVN-TV FOX 7 Miami

Investigation underway after electrical fire at Bonita Springs home

An investigation is underway after a house fire in Bonita Springs Sunday morning. Firefighters responded to a home showing flames due to an accidental electrical fire at 11405 Longfellow Lane. "Our crews arrived on scene initially. They had a pretty long lay back there with the hose line, so they knocked it down with the fire extinguisher and then were able to get more hose back there," Battalion Chief Greg Harrel with the Bonita Springs Fire Control and Rescue District said. The fire reportedly started from a faulty water heater. Heavy smoke was inside, but damage was limited to the kitchen area, a closet, and a small bathroom. According to BSFD, the homeowner suffered a minor injury to his arm while trying to put the fire out. "He broke a window to put a garden hose in to put some of the flames out," BSFD Battalion Chief Greg Harrel said.
WBBH-TV NBC 2 Fort Myers

Bus catches fire on I-10 in Baker County

VIDEOS: Dozens of St. Johns County residents headed to Tallahassee in support of building the Florida Museum of Black History in St. Augustine didn’t get very far Friday morning before they had an unexpected detour. Their charter bus caught fire on I-10, just west of the Glen St. Mary exit. Despite some dramatic photos, the more than 50 people on the bus were able to get off safely and no one was hurt. Greg White was on the bus and said the group believes one of the tires blew and caused a spark to ignite the engine. The group has moved to a staging area and will now take several vans to Tallahassee -- with a police escort from the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. They are headed to Florida’s capital to help the St. Augustine committee make a case for choosing The Nation’s Oldest City to be the home of the Black History Museum.
WJXT-TV 4 Jacksonville

Sarasota County firefighters practice life-saving drills

VIDEO: The Sarasota County Fire Department took over a 75-year-old home before it is demolished, to use for life-saving drills. It happened Thursday morning at 2065 Goldenrod Street in Sarasota. Seven firefighters from Station eight, shift B, rushed into the home that a trainer engulfed with thick billows of smoke. The firefighters had zero visibility and were tasked with finding the “dummy,” to mimic saving a real life. The training at this house was all possible because of the home’s construction superintendent, Thomas Hemingway. Hemingway got permission from the homebuilder, Courtyard Modern Builders, to donate this 1949 home to the fire department for training before it is demolished and rebuilt. “I’m a third-generation firefighter and it gets me excited,” said Hemingway.
WWSB-TV ABC 7 Sarasota

With hurricane season nearing, Volusia County emergency responders train with FEMA

VIDEO: When there’s a major emergency, it’s not just the first responders who answer the call – hundreds are working behind the scenes coordinating efforts. On Wednesday, FEMA met with that group in Volusia County for scenario training. News 6 was there to see it firsthand. The team met at Volusia’s Emergency Operations Center and reacted to the hypothetical scenario that a large building collapsed in Daytona Beach Shores. “Almost all of our cities are here, we’ve got county officials from fire, law enforcement, public works, beach, etc., state partners and FEMA folks,” Volusia’s Emergency Management Director Clint Mecham said. These teams learned from FEMA to react quickly and efficiently if this happened.
WKMG-TV CBS 6 Orlando