BRADFORD COUNTY, Fla. — Bradford County Sheriff’s Office deputies saved a home from an out-of-control brush fire Sunday using buckets of water and wet towels.
The fire started around 2:30 p.m. near Gum Creek. It was caused by a homeowner burning cardboard in violation of a burn ban, a sheriff’s office social media post states.
Recognizing that the fire endangered a home, Cpl. James Hall and Deputy Zach Jones responded to the scene before firefighters and sprang into action.
Hall was the first to arrive and reported that the fire had spread approximately 50 yards from where it started to within a few yards of the residence.
Upon his arrival moments later, Jones identified an above-ground pool located near the side of the home. He used a knife to cut a slit near the bottom of the pool, allowing water to flow out and create a fire break.
This maneuver extinguished a portion of the fire that had already moved past the pool toward the house. The deputies were forced to find alternative tools after discovering a nearby garden hose was broken.
Hall located a towel, which he soaked in water from the pool to beat and smother the flames. Jones utilized a damaged plastic bin to douse the fire with water from the pool.
The two worked together to stop the advancing flames within a few feet of the front porch after the fire circumvented the initial water break.
The fire doubled in size in less than 5 minutes, spreading 200 feet westward toward a tree-line. A change in wind direction then pushed the fire more than 100 feet eastward, threatening the deputies’ patrol vehicles.
When Bradford County Fire Rescue arrived, Hall obtained a water tank to extinguish flames along the edge of the woods before the wind could shift again. Jones used a five-gallon bucket to put out hotspots while directing other responding units to warn neighbors.
He later assisted firefighters in pulling hose lines into the woods to stop the eastward spread.
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