Fire Destroys Homes In Sebring, Spring Lake

A pair of separate Saturday blazes destroyed two homes in Highlands County.

Sebring Fire Department responded to a fire that gutted a single-story block home at 1210 Evanston St., after a neighbor called 911 police Saturday at 5:55 p.m.

Flames also ripped through a home Saturday morning on Edgewater Terrace in the Spring Lake subdivision.

Highlands County Red Cross officials reported that a father and two teenage sons were displaced by the fire at Spring Lake that completely destroyed their home.

Eight firefighters battled the Sebring blaze that Chief Brad Batz said was a "very difficult fire" with heavy smoke. Batz did not declare that fire under control for an hour.

"There were no visible flames and (firefighters) couldn't find the fire after entry through the front door," Batz said on Sunday. "The smoke was too thick to see their hands in front of their faces."

There were no injuries. The family was away at the time of the blaze.

Two firefighters complained of heat exhaustion and were treated at the scene.

Batz was happy to report that a 100-pound pit bull survived the fire, and by late Saturday, its condition had drastically improved.

Firefighter Eric Hanks, who is also a veterinary technician, along with EMS first responders, treated the dog at the scene with an IV and oxygen.

Although a fish tank at the scene partially melted, a pair of goldfish also skirted flames that Batz said fully gutted the structure.

The residents rented the property from Cardon investment Property Management Inc.

Batz said flames raged above the heads of firefighters in a hard to reach attic, less than two feet high.

The chief said that as the crew prepared to poke a hole through the roof to vent, the fire created a hole and vented itself.

As this happened, visibility improved and flames in the kitchen area of the structure were extinguished.

New technology, thermal imaging units, helped firefighters direct streams of water correctly.

Batz praised the Sebring Fire Department.

"They are the best of the best, these are the best guys anybody could have," said Batz. "They gritted their teeth and gutted it out."

The damage was estimated by the department at $75,000, with the contents valued at $15,000.