Police quiz teens about Palm Bay fire
Blaze claims home, 10 acres
By J.D. Gallop
FLORIDA TODAY
PALM BAY -- Patti Tallent stood on scorched grass Sunday evening and looked over the charred heap that was her wood-framed home.
It was here the 43-year-old owner of a house-cleaning business lived for the last six years and it was here everything she owned burned to the ground in what investigators said was a case of three teenaged boys playing with gasoline in a nearby wooded area.
"I just lost everything and it's gone," said Tallent, who was watching television in her living room Sunday afternoon when her son burst in and yelled that there was a fire.
The blaze was first reported about 1:58 p.m. It destroyed the home and blackened nearly 10 acres in the residential area off of Eldron Boulevard and surrounding Entrada and Elizabeth streets. A breeze out of the west and dry underbrush quickly fueled the fire, started in a wooded field.
No other homes were destroyed, although several did have damage to sheds or to surrounding wooden fences.
"It spread very rapidly. Once the wind starts blowing, these fires just take off," Palm Bay Fire Chief Larry Hellmann said. "It appears there were children in the woods playing with matches and gasoline. They brought the gasoline from home."
One of the boys, a foster child under the supervision of the Department of Children and Families, said he and two other neighborhood children had poured gasoline from a can into a plastic bowl and set in on fire.
The 13-year-old said he and his friends had been bored when they walked into the woods and set the fire. They attempted to put it out with sand but the flames continued to spread. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to get out of control like that," the boy said as his caregiver stood nearby and listened.
No arrests were made late Sunday.
One firefighter was treated at a hospital after being overcome by the heat generated by the flames.
Sunday's fires -- there was also another five-acre brush fire at Malabar and Minton roads -- were the latest in a string of blazes to hit the Palm Bay area in several days.
It also followed a red-flag fire advisory issued by the National Weather in response to dry weather conditions in parts of Brevard. In addition to destroying Tallent's 1,100 square-foot home, the deliberately set fire burned away dry pine needles and caused palm scrubs to literally explode.
The flames were seen lapping against several wooden fences and damaged several metal sheds in the area. Palm Bay firefighters, assisted by firemen from Melbourne, Brevard County Fire-Rescue, Malabar and the state Division of Forestry, had to rely mostly on well water since the area had not been connected to water and sewerage lines.
Aston Heron, 42, was at a house on Entrada doing electrical work in the yard when he smelled smoke. He looked to the south and saw an orange wall of flames climbing over the pine trees behind the residence. He then ran in the house and told the residents
"I put the hose on and I just got to work wetting the grass and the roof," Heron said, pointing to burned holes in a white picket fence in the backyard.
Heron said he had seen the 13-year-old and his two friends playing basketball earlier before riding around in go-carts.
One street over, 34-year-old Chris Anderson grabbed the hose to wet up the roof of his home near the intersection of Century and Elizabeth streets.
"I had no idea it was going on," said Anderson, whose home sat in a direct path of the easterly moving flames and embers. For the next hour, he watched as brush trucks carved paths through the wooded area and tamed the fire into smoldering heaps of ash.
By the end of the day, Anderson, wearing shorts and T-shirt, was covered with soot. Quietly looking over the destruction, Anderson found time to take a small break. "I've been hosing for the last hour. Just having a beer now," he said.
Hellmann urged residents in Palm Bay -- a city blanketed with palm trees, pines and acres of undeveloped forests -- to be sure there is a clearance of at least 20 to 25 feet between their property and any brush.
Firefighters remained at the scene of the fires late Sunday, putting out hotspots and watering the surrounding grass. But for Tallent, much of the hard work by firefighters came too late. The flames from the brush fire crept into her attic and engulfed the single family dwelling within 20 minutes. The only recognizable remains in the smoldering heap were a twisted metal bed-frame and a tin roof from a porch.
When told about the teens suspected of starting the fire, Tallent shook her head.
"You don't want to know my thoughts on that," Tallent said.
Blaze claims home, 10 acres
By J.D. Gallop
FLORIDA TODAY
PALM BAY -- Patti Tallent stood on scorched grass Sunday evening and looked over the charred heap that was her wood-framed home.
It was here the 43-year-old owner of a house-cleaning business lived for the last six years and it was here everything she owned burned to the ground in what investigators said was a case of three teenaged boys playing with gasoline in a nearby wooded area.
"I just lost everything and it's gone," said Tallent, who was watching television in her living room Sunday afternoon when her son burst in and yelled that there was a fire.
The blaze was first reported about 1:58 p.m. It destroyed the home and blackened nearly 10 acres in the residential area off of Eldron Boulevard and surrounding Entrada and Elizabeth streets. A breeze out of the west and dry underbrush quickly fueled the fire, started in a wooded field.
No other homes were destroyed, although several did have damage to sheds or to surrounding wooden fences.
"It spread very rapidly. Once the wind starts blowing, these fires just take off," Palm Bay Fire Chief Larry Hellmann said. "It appears there were children in the woods playing with matches and gasoline. They brought the gasoline from home."
One of the boys, a foster child under the supervision of the Department of Children and Families, said he and two other neighborhood children had poured gasoline from a can into a plastic bowl and set in on fire.
The 13-year-old said he and his friends had been bored when they walked into the woods and set the fire. They attempted to put it out with sand but the flames continued to spread. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to get out of control like that," the boy said as his caregiver stood nearby and listened.
No arrests were made late Sunday.
One firefighter was treated at a hospital after being overcome by the heat generated by the flames.
Sunday's fires -- there was also another five-acre brush fire at Malabar and Minton roads -- were the latest in a string of blazes to hit the Palm Bay area in several days.
It also followed a red-flag fire advisory issued by the National Weather in response to dry weather conditions in parts of Brevard. In addition to destroying Tallent's 1,100 square-foot home, the deliberately set fire burned away dry pine needles and caused palm scrubs to literally explode.
The flames were seen lapping against several wooden fences and damaged several metal sheds in the area. Palm Bay firefighters, assisted by firemen from Melbourne, Brevard County Fire-Rescue, Malabar and the state Division of Forestry, had to rely mostly on well water since the area had not been connected to water and sewerage lines.
Aston Heron, 42, was at a house on Entrada doing electrical work in the yard when he smelled smoke. He looked to the south and saw an orange wall of flames climbing over the pine trees behind the residence. He then ran in the house and told the residents
"I put the hose on and I just got to work wetting the grass and the roof," Heron said, pointing to burned holes in a white picket fence in the backyard.
Heron said he had seen the 13-year-old and his two friends playing basketball earlier before riding around in go-carts.
One street over, 34-year-old Chris Anderson grabbed the hose to wet up the roof of his home near the intersection of Century and Elizabeth streets.
"I had no idea it was going on," said Anderson, whose home sat in a direct path of the easterly moving flames and embers. For the next hour, he watched as brush trucks carved paths through the wooded area and tamed the fire into smoldering heaps of ash.
By the end of the day, Anderson, wearing shorts and T-shirt, was covered with soot. Quietly looking over the destruction, Anderson found time to take a small break. "I've been hosing for the last hour. Just having a beer now," he said.
Hellmann urged residents in Palm Bay -- a city blanketed with palm trees, pines and acres of undeveloped forests -- to be sure there is a clearance of at least 20 to 25 feet between their property and any brush.
Firefighters remained at the scene of the fires late Sunday, putting out hotspots and watering the surrounding grass. But for Tallent, much of the hard work by firefighters came too late. The flames from the brush fire crept into her attic and engulfed the single family dwelling within 20 minutes. The only recognizable remains in the smoldering heap were a twisted metal bed-frame and a tin roof from a porch.
When told about the teens suspected of starting the fire, Tallent shook her head.
"You don't want to know my thoughts on that," Tallent said.
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