Battling house fire for 8 hours part of how Manatee crews helped Fort Myers after Ian
Manatee County first responders joined rescue teams from all over the country in responding to Fort Myers in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
After the hurricane devastated Southwest Florida, 25 members of local fire rescue teams — Cedar Hammock, North River, Southern Manatee, West Manatee and the city of Bradenton — spent 14 days on Sanibel Island and other areas of Lee County and Desoto County.
Cedar Hammock Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Doug Brett told the Bradenton Herald on Tuesday that he worked with local agencies in Fort Myers to coordinate resources.
“Seeing what they need or what we could give,” he said. “And if we needed more, we called the state and they sent it to us.”
Each day in Lee County, crews worked on different assignments.
“It was hundreds of calls, multiple fires, hazardous materials incidents,” Brett said. “There was a large incident involving previously submerged batteries that caught fire.”
On Sept. 30, the crew spent its first day in Desoto County working with Ohio Task Force 1 on flood and damage assessments.
The next day, Manatee County crews were vital in keeping two Lee County hospitals open — Gulf Coast Medical Center and HealthPark Medical Center — to treat storm victims and other medical needs.
“If they don’t have fire-protection water, they would have had to shut down, so we provided that to them which was very important,” Brett said.
Another assignment was to help the Fort Myers Fire Department with their increased 911 calls, which included fires, crashes, medical crises and small fires caused by downed powerlines.
On Oct. 6, around 7:30 p.m., firefighters from Manatee and Broward counties assisted in putting out a fire in a 3,600-square-foot property in Fort Myers while preserving nearby houses.
The heat from the fire forced the windows in the house to crack, resulting in a wind-driven fire that sent firefighters on the defensive. It took them 8 hours to extinguish the fire. Nobody was hurt.
Crews also helped in the rescue of Sanibel Island residents who became stranded when the Sanibel Causeway was destroyed during the hurricane.
After spending two weeks working to rescue residents, emergency crews have shifted their focus to recovery.
“They have officially switched from a rescue phase, where we’re hoping to find live people and save them, into a recovery phase,” Brett said. “Any people who have been trapped this long are not expected to be alive.”
Hazmat crews are still searching for more human remains. There have been 53 deaths in Lee County as a result of Hurricane Ian.
The 25 fire and rescue workers that traveled to Fort Myers have all returned to Manatee County, but other teams from the area may be called in to help with the recovery phase.
