Illegal stump burning damages Crystal River home, plus 5 campers/vehicles - no injuries reported
Crystal River, Florida - At 6:38 pm on Friday, December 3, 2021, Citrus County Fire Rescue responded to a structure fire that had been reported on W. Cherrywood St. in Crystal River. Firefighters arrived on scene to find an approximately 600 square foot metal building fully involved in fire, with five nearby exposures threatened by the fire.
The homeowner advised firefighters that arrived on scene from the Connell Heights, Kensington, Pine Ridge, and Homosassa fire stations, that he was alerted by an explosion and came outside to find the fire.
According to CCFR, the illegal burn fire was under control at 6:52 pm. Powerlines were down on three sides of the structure, so that power to the building was secured at the main breaker box until the power company arrived to secure power at the pole and remove the meter. Once the fire was under control, firefighters made several searches to verify that no people were inside the building. After an extensive mop up and overhaul, the last unit cleared the scene at 9:03 pm. No injuries were reported as a result of the fire.
Accordng to a CCFR press release, about two feet from the building near a wood frame wall which was part of an addition to the rear of the metal building, firefighters found a large tree stump with holes drilled in it and piles of split firewood inside a burnt-out crater in the middle of the stump. The homeowner admitted to firefighters that he'd burned-out the stump around 5:00 pm, roughly ninety minutes prior to the fire, and he believed that the stump fire was extinguished before he went back inside the home.
The damage from the fire was consistent with the burnt tree stump as the ignition point, with the fire progressing through the grass to the wood wall and into the building. A four feet-tall stack of plywood and 15 gallons of oil contributed to the spread of the fire and the heat damage to the exposures.
The losses from the fire included the metal building, wich was a 100% loss, along with the 50% loss of a 25-feet Trophy tow behind camper, the 50% loss of a 2017 Ram ProMaster van, the 100% loss of a Moped bike, the 50% loss of a 1994 Gulfstream 32 feet fifth wheel camper, and the 100% loss of a Harley Davidson Fat Boy motorcycle.
Contact Citrus County Fire Rescue by phone at (352) 527-5406 or visit online at www.citruscountyfire.com or on Facebook.com/CitrusCountyFireRescue or Twitter.com/citruscofire.