When it rains, it pours.
West Manatee Fire Rescue fire marshal Rodney Kwiatkowski told The Islander Sept. 30 that district staff responded to a structure fire at 7703 Second Ave. NW, Bradenton, during Hurricane Ian.
Kwiatkowski said the district was under lockdown from 11 a.m. Sept. 28, the day of Ian’s landfall in Florida, through 6:45 a.m. Sept. 29 for the staff’s safety through the natural disaster.
During lockdown, WMFR does not actively respond to most calls. Instead, district staff note the details of each call so they can be investigated after lockdown is lifted.
The structure fire was first reported to WMFR around 7 p.m. Sept. 28 but the district didn’t respond until a call around 1:30 a.m. Sept. 29 reported a teenager had entered the burning building and might not have exited.
Kwiatkowski said staff contacted the Manatee County public safety emergency communications center about the call and received clearance from county administrator Scott Hopes to break lockdown and respond to the house fire.
WMFR staff responded with a fire engine and ladder truck and extinguished the fire which, following an investigation later that day, was believed to have been started by the property’s swimming pool heater.
Kwiatkowski said a downed power line also resulted in some radiant burn damage near the front of the property.
The teenager who reportedly entered the building was found outside the house and uninjured, according to Kwiatkowski.
Kwiatkowski added that the home was unoccupied at the time of the fire as its owner had evacuated ahead of Ian’s landfall, so the incident resulted in zero injuries.
However, the property is a “total loss” due to the fire damage, according to Kwiatkowski.
Otherwise, WMFR Chief Ben Rigney told The Islander Sept. 29 that hurricane preparation and recovery went smoothly in the district.
Rigney said WMFR began double-staffing Sept. 27 ahead of the storm and assisted in evacuating Anna Maria Island and the village of Cortez without issue.
District staff addressed 44 backlogged calls — two from the island — after lockdown was lifted the morning of Sept. 29, according to Rigney.
Rigney said WMFR also put its new administration building at 701 63rd St. W., Bradenton, to use as an emergency operations center for local government and law enforcement entities, including the Holmes Beach Police Department and Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
The district purchased the property in 2019 for $295,000 and completed construction by 2021 of the admin building, which was designed to withstand hurricane-force winds and act as an EOC during natural disasters, for almost $1.5 million.
Rigney said several entities, including the HBPD, parked emergency vehicles at the property so they could be safely deployed after the storm subsided. He added that the MCSO marine unit stayed the night at the admin building.
“It worked out really well,” Rigney said. “It’s been very effective so far.”
Rigney also said WMFR deployed a fire engine with four personnel to the Fort Myers area for assistance in post-storm recovery efforts.
