Firefighters Encounter Busy Weekend Fighting Fire
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Firefighters Take On A Barn Fire on Busy Fire Weekend |
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Astatula, FL – Lake County Firefighters responded to reports of a barn fire off Robbins Road in Astatula just before 4PM on Saturday. Fire crews from Lake County Fire Rescue and Montverde Fire Department worked to extinguish the barn fire for about 30 minutes before getting the fire under control. Lt. Brian Gamble, Vice President of the Professional Firefighters of Lake County, reports “Our closest engine stationed in Astatula quickly arrived on scene in about 6 minutes to find a large barn almost fully consumed in flames. They estimated it was about 3,000 square feet.” Several other engines and tankers responded to the remote property to help provide water to put out the fire. “Items stored inside were a complete loss, but fortunately no one was injured” Gamble stated. “Our firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading to any nearby buildings and contained to just the barn. A lack of hydrants in the rural area create a challenge of having enough water to put the fire out. We had to bring in several tankers to accomplish this.” The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Late Sunday afternoon on the other side of the county, a 2 acre brush fire spread quickly from an unattended burn pile to a neighboring yard off Arlington Avenue in Lady Lake. Lake County Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire. “We were able to put a quick stop on this brush fire and prevented any property damage, which is always a plus. The fire burned up under a large cargo trailer but arriving crews knocked it down just in time” Gamble notes. “We have been getting a lot of rain this winter, but when we have dry, cold windy days after the rain, it quickly dries out the ground making it very easy to light off.” The property owner was burning leaves in a pit when some of the ashes blew over into the grass and ignited the field. Gamble continues, “It is imperative if you are going to conduct a legal controlled burn, it must be attended. Leaving a fire like that for even just a few minutes can allow it to get out of control. We are fortunate that fire crews were not far away and able to stop this one before it damaged any property.”
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