High Springs, FLA – At 2:09 PM on Sunday, November 16th, firefighters from High Springs, Newberry, Alachua County, and the Florida Forest Service, and deputies from Alachua County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to 24715 NW 94th Avenue in Unincorporated Alachua County for a reported brush fire.
At 2:18 PM, High Springs Firefighters arrived on-scene and reported a grass fire with multiple structures threatened. The first arriving brush trucks began extinguishing the grass fire, while fire engines quickly moved to protect threatened homes. “Fast, inter-departmental communication and coordination saved this fire from spreading to nearby structures and vehicles,” said Alachua County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Drew Dabney.
With a significant number of fire department resources committed to the incident, off-duty High Springs firefighters, as well as units from LaCrosse, were relocated to cover the High Springs area, firefighters from Archer moved to Newberry, and units from Alachua County’s Fort Clarke Blvd station moved to the Jonesville area, to ensure the western side of Alachua County had sufficient fire rescue protection.
By 2:39 PM firefighters had the fire contained to 3.7 acres, as reported by the Florida Forest Service, and saved 14 exposures: five boats, five structures, and four vehicles.
No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is believed to be an escaped pile burn from Saturday night.
The High Springs Fire Department reminds you to never burn on a windy day and to always check your fire before going in. “If it’s too hot to touch, it’s too hot to leave.”
For more information, contact Public Information Officer Kevin Mangan at 352-681-1907 or kmangan [at] highsprings.gov (kmangan[at]highsprings[dot]gov)