Brush fires flare up in Hillsborough

Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 27, 2000

Although as many as a half-dozen brush fires broke out in Hillsborough County on Saturday, none was large enough for firefighters to alert Hillsborough Fire Rescue Chief Bill Kaplan.

They call him any time a fire is burning at least 5 acres or threatening houses. That hasn't happened, he said, because firefighters are working hard to keep small fires from becoming blazes.

"Our personnel have been on high alert for these," he said. "They're reacting a lot quicker, making a very quick and aggressive attack on them."

Their busiest time of day for fire calls is between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., he said. By that time, any dew on the ground has dried up and kids have gotten out of school.

Tampa Fire Rescue also was called out Saturday for a brush fire. Firefighters arrived at Copeland Park near the University of South Florida about 9:20 a.m. It took a dozen firefighters and five trucks about two hours to extinguish the flames. By then, 2 acres and a wooden boardwalk had burned. Although there are houses with yards adjacent to the park, the fire was far from them, said Capt. Bill Wade.

The cause of that fire has not been determined.

Wade advised anyone living near undeveloped land to keep the gutters and roofs of their houses clean of dried leaves and other debris, and to construct a fire break free of vegetation on the edge of their property.

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