State Fire Marshal’s Office investigating Aug. 2 incident
A Sarasota County firefighter who experienced a medical emergency on Sunday, Aug. 2, as crews fought a structure fire in the Pinecraft area of Sarasota, was expected to be discharged from Sarasota Memorial Hospital on Aug. 6, county staff reported.
The firefighter received medical care on the scene, a news release said; then he was transported to the hospital. A county update distributed at 5:40 p.m. on Aug. 2 noted that he was in stable condition, and he was “awake, talking, and responding well to the excellent care he [was] receiving.”
In response to a Sarasota News Leader inquiry about the condition of the firefighter, Fire Department staff reported in an Aug. 6 email, “Our firefighter continues to do well and is in good spirits. … We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support from our community, partner agencies, and everyone who has kept our firefighter, his family, and our personnel in their thoughts.”
An Aug. 6 county news release identified the firefighter as Lt. Clay Huber. The release said that when he left the hospital, “he was surrounded by nearly 100 fellow firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, other first responders,” representatives of other departments, and Sarasota Memorial Hospital staff who sent him home with cheers [and] applause …”
Because of federal health privacy laws, county staff does not provide details about injuries to its first responders.
The fire, which occurred at 1044 Herndon Place, just east of Beneva Road, is under investigation by the Florida State Fire Marshal’s office, county staff added in the news release.
The American Red Cross was assisting the people who had been living in the Herndon Place residence, the release pointed out.
The Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s Office records show that the parcel where the incident occurred is owned by Duane Hostetler of Rexford, Montana, who purchased it in late December 2006. The 1,248-square-foot house was built in 1980, the record says; a detached garage was added in 1982.
The Fire Department report on the Aug. 2 incident notes that the alarm went out at 11:56 a.m., with the first unit arriving on the scene at noon.
The report indicates that the fire began in the garage, which is close to the house. After firefighters “knocked down the main body of the fire in the garage,” the report says, a crew entered the “main home and conducted a primary search,” finding two residents. The latter “were assisted out of the structure,” the report notes. Then the crew who had found them assisted with extinguishing the flames in the garage.
Another section of the report described the garage fire as “fully involved with debris scattered around the property.” In fact, part of the report says that firefighters with Engine 12 were delayed in reaching one side of the garage because of the “large amounts of debris.”
The report also points out that the firefighter who suffered the medical emergency was on Birky Street, south of the scene.
The last units cleared the site at 5:17 p.m., the report shows.
Altogether, by count of the News Leader, 43 members of the Fire Department — including battalion chiefs — responded to the scene.