Short circuit determined to be the cause
An early afternoon fire at a single-story, three-dwelling residential structure in the Point of Rocks area of Siesta Key resulted in estimated damage of close to $200,000, the Sarasota County Fire Department has reported.
The house is located at 1018 Point of Rocks Road.
No injuries were reported, the department said.
The call about the incident came in at 12:57 p.m. on June 5, the formal Fire Department report says. The first crew reached the scene at 1:02 p.m., the report adds.
When that engine from Fire Station 11 arrived, the report says, heavy smoke was coming from the eaves of the house. After firefighters forced their entry through the front door, the report continues, they found “light smoke, high heat” but no visible fire. “Crews proceeded to conduct a primary search while simultaneously pulling [down] the ceiling to locate the fire,” the report says. That resulted in the determination that “the main body of the fire” was in the attic, it adds.
After water was directed onto the fire, the crews were able to get it under control before it could spread, the report says. “Further investigation … revealed the fire was initiated from a short in either the electrical wiring connected to the clothes dryer or the actual outlet itself,” the report explains.
A wooden fence enclosure under the eave of the house on the side with the dryer ignited, with the fire eventually making its way to the attic, the report adds.
Because the source of the blaze was found, the report points out, crews did not need to involve the fire marshal in an investigation.
The report says the structure itself had a value of $390,213.27 before the fire started; the contents were valued at $78,042.65. Property damage was estimated at $156,085.31, with another $31,217.06 put down for the loss of contents.
The Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s Office records show that the owner of the structure is an Ontario resident, Sukola Milinka. The purchase of the parcel dates to Jan. 3, 1991, with the transaction having involved an Ontario company called KSK Framing Construction Ltd. The deed shows that Milinka paid only $100.
The site encompasses 7,200 square feet, the Property Appraiser’s Office says. The zoning is Residential Multi-Family-1 (RMF-1), the record notes. However, the structure is listed as having only two dwelling units, instead of three, as the Fire Department pointed out in its report. The report specifically mentions that a command officer “discovered a 3rd living space” on the same side of the house as the laundry room, where the dryer was located.
The land was valued at $707,600 in 2022, the Property Appraiser’s Office says, while the residential structure had a value of $190,800. The total market value of the property was $917,300, the record points out.
The residential structure was built in 1955, the record adds, though it was updated in 1990. The living area comprises 1,915 square feet, the record notes, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
County regulations say that an RMF-1 zoning district can have a maximum of six dwelling units per acre, with a minimum lot size of 7260 square feet.
Altogether, the Fire Department report notes, 11 fire engines responded to the incident, along with five emergency medical services vehicles and four other units. (Command personnel have their own vehicles.) The number of Fire Department personnel at the scene was 38, with 26 of those having responded with the fire engines, the report says.
The fire was under control by 1:42 p.m., the report adds, but the last unit did not clear the scene until 3:33 p.m.