GIBSONTON, Fla. — Traffic is moving again on U.S. Highway 41 after a fierce two-alarm blaze consumed a two-story home and temporarily shut down the major roadway Tuesday.
The chaos began around 11:20 a.m. when dispatchers were flooded with calls about a structure fire at 12687 S. US Highway 41. When the first Hillsborough County Fire Rescue units pulled up, the property was already a loss—fully engulfed in flames, with heat so intense it threatened to ignite neighboring homes.
Commanders on the scene wasted no time. They initially ordered crews to focus on “protecting exposures”—dousing nearby structures to keep the fire from jumping the fence line—before shifting to a defensive attack on the burning home itself. Ladder trucks were deployed to drown the flames from above, while ground teams worked to box the fire in…