House Fire Displaces Family Of Six

Firefighters managed to save a downtown Sebring home early Tuesday morning after about 13 firefighters responded to the blaze, a few blocks from the firehouse.

The home is located at 303 S. Mango St. There were no injuries.

Firefighters learned from a neighboring relative that the home's residents - a mother and her five children - were visiting a relative in Orlando, Chief Brad Batz, of Sebring Fire Rescue, said.

When firefighters got there, the single story home's front porch and front bedroom were burning.
The call came in at about 12:45 a.m., and the fire was extinguished within 10 or 15 minutes, said Batz.

About eight or nine off-duty firefighters joined the on-duty crews. Bratz estimated that 13 or 14 firefighters were on the scene. Two engines and a brush truck worked the fire.

The house suffered from smoke and heat damage.

Since no one was home to say how the fire started, the State Fire Marshal's Office was automatically notified, Batz said.

State Fire Marshal Public Information Officer Sam Venzeio said Wednesday morning that the fire was still under investigation, but expected some news soon from the investigator working the case.

Volunteers with the American Red Cross in Highlands County received word of the fire at 2 p.m.

Tuesday, said Public Information Officer Phil Attinger in a news release.

"The children were going to stay with their grandmother; volunteers provided the mother with temporary shelter and a comfort kit (personal hygiene kit).

"They also provided the family with emergency assistance for food and clothing, Publix cards donated by Florida's Blood Centers, and landlord verification forms to assist in relocation."

"This has been a busy service year for the American Red Cross in Highlands County," Attinger wrote. "In the last 12 months, the service center has helped approximately 36 families affected by local disasters - most of them single-home and apartment fires - more than double the number from the previous year."