Fireworks Weren’t the Only Thing On Fire This Fourth of July; It Was a Busy Night For Firefighters

We can all appreciate the Fourth of July and should! The date is more than just a day to barbeque and watch some fireworks in the sky. It’s an opportunity to remember our history, be thankful, and teach or remind our children of the importance of the date.

Of course, we’ll have our awesome get-togethers, and everyone will get to eat the uncle’s, dad’s, or grandpa’s barbecue, and soon the night will be filled with not only stars but bright, loud, fun fireworks.

By the morning, everything will be over – except the unfortunate one who gets to clean up the mess from the night before – and everyone will be waking up getting ready for another day of work.

That’s how most Fourth of July’s go, but on this unfortunate day, for these families, this is also a day that saw their nights ending ablaze.

The Hillsborough County Fire Responded to a burst on Soratrace Street in Fishhawk close to 9:45 p.m. and what’s more, is that they saw some weighty smoke and sparks coming from a home in the distance. That’s when authorities sprang into action and set up a barrier to prevent the fire from spreading to the adjoining houses.

According to authorities there was at least one individual in the house when the fire broke out and had a way to escape with his two little pups. A third pup is as of yet to be found, but no wounds were found among the person and two dogs.

The fire department said in a news release: “The occupant disposed of used fireworks believed to be out in a cardboard box in the garage, failing to extinguish them with water. Investigators believe the heat of the fireworks started the fire in the box, which rapidly spread throughout the garage and the home.”

You’d think that this was the odd one out of the night and everyone could then wrap things up and go home and enjoy the rest of the night. However, not even an hour later, authorities received yet another call for – you guessed it – another fire that broke out.

This time it was out in the 5200 block of Ashley Parkway in Sarasota County. The fire was smothered out around 12 p.m. and all occupants were counted safe, the sheriff’s office said. One fireman was lightly harmed but didn’t go to the medical clinic. Luckily, there were no other wounds accounted for.

This is where the importance of safety comes in. Yes, it’s the Fourth and yes, we will celebrate it. However, we still need to be mindful of safety. Where is that rocket pointed, is there a dry spell, the weather channel doesn’t warn red flag watches and warnings for no reason. Authorities said the flames might have been brought about by fireworks, however, the occurrence is as yet being examined by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Yet, another house was caught by the flames this day. At around 11:00 p.m. teams were dispatched to a fire in the 600 block of Pinewood Drive in Dunedin. However, this time, the flames were immediately doused by the firemen and things were under control.

“Residents stated to fire personnel that they threw away used fireworks and that one of the fireworks ignited and caught fire to the home,” officials said.

Of all the houses that were engulfed in flames in this area, no one was harmed which I count as a win. However, six of the individuals are now displaced.