BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
HAMPTON — A Hampton neighborhood was on fire Jan. 25 and multiple agencies responded to assist.
Bradford County Fire Rescue was dispatched around 4:15 p.m. to the 10000 block of Florida Avenue where a home near the intersection of South Division Avenue and Pine Street was ablaze under a canopy of old trees.
Within a couple of hours, fire rescue reported the fire was under control. Additional resources had been called in, including Starke Fire Rescue, Clay County Fire Rescue, the State Fire Marshal’s Office, Bradford Emergency Management, and Florida Power and Light.
Firefighters remained on scene until after midnight Thursday morning.
Fire Chief Ben Carter expressed appreciation for the cooperation, which also included the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office and Public Works department.
Carter said there were no injuries. No one was living at the house, but it was being used for storage, which added fuel to the fire. The fire began in an outbuilding, where a load of laundry was being dried. Windy conditions caused the fire to spread quickly to the house, Carter said.
The day before, Bradford County Fire Rescue worked with the Florida Forestry Service to get a five-acre brush fire under control. The fire was in the 7700 block of Southeast 11th Avenue, which is northwest of Keystone Heights near the Santa Fe Swamp Conservation Area.
Firefighters used bulldozers to contain the fire and prevent its spread to nearby homes and property.
