Broward Sheriff’s Office

(Lauderdale Lakes, FL) –  Broward Sheriff Firefighter Robert McAllister prepares to man a hose line late Thursday night after a raging fire broke out in a Lauderdale Lakes warehouse complex. Just after 9 p.m., firefighters got the call for smoke coming from the building at 3000 NW 27 Street. When they arrived, there was heavy black smoke pouring out of the warehouse. After they forced their way in, they encountered a fast moving fuel fire hotter than 1,000 degrees that spread to the adjacent business. There were chemicals, hazardous materials and a lot of combustibles inside the building. Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue’s Hazardous Materials Team, Technical Rescue Team and “Chemical-6,” a specialized chemical/foam tanker from Port Everglades, all responded. The foam tanker was able to assist in getting the fire, which had quickly progressed to three alarms, under control in about an hour. In all, about 75 firefighters from five departments battled the blaze. Several firefighters were treated on the scene for exhaustion, but none required hospitalization. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Broward Sheriff Fire Marshal’s Bureau and State Fire Marshal.

Photo by Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

(Lauderdale Lakes, FL) –  Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Lt. Bob Riccardi (left) and Firefighter/Paramedic Joe Bencivenga (center) check for structural damage to an apartment Wednesday night after 62-year-old David Bisset, of Pompano Beach, drove his Subaru into the quad-plex at 3951 NW 30 Terrace. Bisset told Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies he was heading north on NW 31 Avenue around 5 p.m. when he said another driver cut him off, causing him to run up over the curb, knock down a fence and crash into Belony Cherubin’s apartment, leaving a gaping hole in the wall. Cherubin, 33, said he was injured trying to help the driver get out of his car. Both men were transported to area hospitals with non-life threatening injuries by Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue. Northbound 31st Avenue was reduced to one lane while a wrecker was called to remove the vehicle.

Photo by Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

(Pembroke Park, FL) – A 26-year-old Miami woman is lucky to be alive after the car she was driving slammed through a fence and careened into a mobile home Monday night. Tanesha Graham was northbound on SW 52 Avenue approaching Hallandale Beach Boulevard just after 7 p.m. when, according to Broward Sheriff’s deputies, she went through the intersection and crashed through a fence at Dale Village Mobile Home Park. The car narrowly missed two large concrete poles and crashed into the mobile home. Fortunately, the seasonal residents had not yet returned from Canada. Graham was pinned inside the vehicle which was inside the collapsed mobile home. Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue’s Technical Rescue Team, which specializes in difficult rescues, responded and freed the woman in about 25 minutes. She was transported by Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue to Memorial Regional Hospital for treatment of her injuries, which were believed to be non-life threatening. No other injuries were reported and westbound Hallandale Beach Boulevard remained closed until almost 9 p.m. while the car was retrieved.

Photo by Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

(Weston) – Broward Sheriff Firefighter/Paramedics arrive at Cleveland Clinic Hospital Thursday night with a 47-year-old man who was bitten by an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake in Collier County while returning from Immokalee with his wife. As the couple drove from Highway 29 to I-75, they saw a snake in the roadway that looked like it had been run over. They stopped and the husband got out to remove the snake when it bit him on the right hand. The couple drove east on I-75 and called 9-1-1. They stopped at a gas station at the 49 mile marker and were met by Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue’s Regional Everglades units, who began advanced life support treatment to stabilize the patient, who was conscious and talking upon arrival at the hospital. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s Venom One unit responded to the hospital and assisted in treating the patient.

Photo by Mike Jachles / Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

(Lauderdale Lakes) – Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Inspectors Dave Sweet (left) and Michael Korte (at right) look for the cause of a fire that damaged apartment #105 at the Canterbury Palms complex Monday afternoon. A 64-year-old woman was inside at the time and told BSO deputies she woke up and her apartment was on fire. When Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue crews arrived, there was heavy smoke and flames inside the first floor unit. They were able to contain the blaze and keep it from damaging any of the adjoining units. There was a melted smoke alarm in one room of the apartment but it is unknown if it was functional at the time. The Broward Sheriff Fire Marshal’s Bureau and the State Fire Marshal are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire. The occupant was transported to Florida Medical Center for observation.

Firefighters from Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue responded to a house fire in Weston on Monday afternoon. Just before 3:00 p.m., Ken Bank returned home and was sitting in his car in the driveway waiting for the storm to let up when a bolt of lightning struck the roof of the two-story house. Inside were Bank’s three children and their babysitter. Bank dashed inside the house, smelled smoke and evacuated everyone. He called 9-1-1 and when firefighters arrived, they reported smoke coming from the eaves of the roof. Firefighters used an aerial platform truck to access the roof while firefighter/paramedic Jim Owens, pictured, crawled through the attic to locate the fire. In the photo, Owens is on a ladder in the attic assessing the damage after firefighters secured a tarp over the hole in the roof to prevent water damage. Thermal imaging cameras measured the fire in the attic at 1,000 degrees. Thanks to quick work by firefighters, damage was confined to the immediate area of the lightning strike that caused a two-foot hole in the tiled roof and burned part of the roof and trusses. No injuries were reported. The Banks family was staying with relatives.

Photo by Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Lt. Tom Posey, center, directs firefighters in the backyard of a home where a brush fire erupted Monday around 3:00 p.m. A passerby saw smoke and knocked on the door at 2011 SW 44 Terrace to alert the resident, who then called 9-1-1. When firefighters arrived, a wooden fence was fully engulfed that quickly spread to the overgrown trees, brush and mulch, fueled by the afternoon’s high winds. The firefighters were able to contain the blaze and keep it from spreading to several homes that were around 10 feet from the fire. About 20 firefighters responded and no injuries were reported. The Broward Sheriff Fire Marshal’s Bureau is looking into the cause.

Photo by: Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue