Firefighters from West Manatee Fire Rescue responded around 10 a.m. Sept. 8 to a residential structure fire at 835 65th St. NW, Bradenton, the home of former Holmes Beach city attorney Stephen Dye.
The fire was determined to be an accident that began in the garage, where an appliance technician was using an open flame to repair an upright freezer, according to WMFR fire marshal Rodney Kwiatkowski.
The appliance technician, one of two people injured in the fire, was taken by Manatee County emergency medical services to HCA Florida Blake Hospital in Bradenton.
He was released the same day and returned to the scene to cooperate with the investigation.
A second person, an unnamed civilian, was treated for burns but did not require hospitalization.
In addition to the injuries, the 7,000-square-foot home may be a complete loss, according to Kwiatkowski.
“The garage area was a complete loss and the living area sustained heavy smoke and water damage,” Kwiatkowski wrote. “It will be determined by insurance and homeowners if the home is a complete loss.”
Since the loss may cost $1 million or more, an investigative team from the Florida Fire Marshal’s Office responded to the scene to investigate the incident.
After the fire was extinguished, a Manatee County building official representative investigated the structure and declared it “non-habitable, enter at own risk,” according to Kwiatkowski.