WIMAUMA, Fla. – A residential fire in Wimauma nearly turned into a neighborhood-wide emergency Friday afternoon when high winds pushed flames from a backyard into dry brush. Hillsborough County Fire Rescue crews were dispatched to 6006 Vel Street at 1:21 PM following a surge of 911 calls from neighbors reporting heavy smoke and visible flames.
The first fire engine to arrive found the rear of the home heavily engulfed. Because of the dry weather and steady wind gusts, the fire transitioned quickly from the structure to the surrounding grass. This created a secondary brush fire that began moving toward several nearby houses, threatening to spread the damage further down the block.
Firefighting teams had to coordinate a two-pronged attack: one group worked to douse the main body of the fire inside the home, while others moved to intercept the brush fire and protect the “exposures,” or neighboring properties.
Their quick intervention worked, as the nearby buildings sustained only minor heat damage before the flames were knocked down…