Fire Department units respond to call about possible early-morning fire
Early in the morning of Sept. 16, bicyclists and walkers heading to and from The Legacy Trail segments that connect to Webber Street in Sarasota had their curiosity piqued by the presence of two Sarasota County Fire Department engines that at one point were perpendicular to the start of the section between Webber and Bee Ridge Road, a Sarasota News Leader reporter observed.
The Sarasota County Fire Department report on the incident says that Engine 12, which is based at 3110 Bee Ridge Road, was dispatched to an alert about a possible fire near the Sarasota Springs Trailhead, with the alarm having been sounded at 6:51 a.m. on Sept. 16.
When the unit arrived at 6:57 a.m., the report continues, the firefighters saw “a small haze of smoke on the Legacy Trail south of Webber. Upon investigation,” it adds, the Engine 12 crew “found what looked to be an [electric bike] battery smoldering in the bushes.” No active fire was located, the report notes.
Firefighters removed the battery from the bushes with a shovel and placed it on the asphalt of The Legacy Trail, the report says. The crew used a water can to extinguish the smoldering, the report points out.
A Fire Department hazardous materials unit, identified as Squad 8, “was dispatched for removal and transport of the battery” to the county’s hazardous waste facility, the report says.
Another section of the report points out that the Squad 8 crew had found the battery to be “warm but not hot.” Members of that crew placed the battery on a bed of sand in a 5-gallon bucket, for transport.
The last unit cleared the scene at 8:06 a.m., the report adds.
Altogether, the Fire Department dispatched three fire suppression vehicles, with nine firefighters; one EMS unit, with three individuals; and two other vehicles to the location, the report points out. Of the latter units, the report indicates that at least one was used by a battalion chief.
The report does note that residential areas surround the Sarasota Springs Trailhead; thus, a fire could have threatened them. It also says that passersby had reported the possibility that a battery had “caught on fire on The Legacy Trail.”
Further, the report indicates that a passerby told one of the Fire Department personnel at the scene that someone possibly had extinguished the fire.