ORLANDO, Fla. – A month after a downed power line caused a fire that destroyed an Orlando couple’s home, an incident report confirms firefighters left the scene after the Orlando Utilities Commission told them they shut down their responses at the time due to weather conditions.
Records obtained by News 6 confirm that at 11:09 p.m. on Oct. 9, the Orlando Fire Department responded to a reported down powerline sparking in the backyard of 5114 Jeannine Court.
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While on the scene, the responding crew requested dispatch notify OUC to respond to the scene for the arching down power line and cut power to it, according to the report.
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The report shows that OUC told dispatch that it shut down its responses at the time due to the deteriorating weather conditions from Hurricane Milton. The fire crew on the scene was advised by dispatch to return to quarters and that OFD operations would be “suspended due to the weather conditions.”
Before leaving, Engine 6 advised that the power line had a “high likelihood of causing a structure fire.”
Over an hour later, at 12:17 a.m., after receiving multiple calls for a structure fire at 5116 Jeannine Court, the decision was made to have OFD units respond to the structure fire due to the severity of the incident.
Fire crews arrived on scene and extinguished the fire with on-scene resources and with OUC’s assistance from a remote location, but not before an estimated $603,600 worth of damage had occurred.
The homeowners, David and Christy Darr, spoke to News 6 last month. The couple lost their home and their food truck business in the fire.
“We did call them, and they came back and fought the fire, but everything was lost at that point,” David Darr said. “Seeing them leave with the fire burning was devastating.”
News 6 reached out to OUC for an interview on Wednesday.
“This is an on-going investigation, and we cannot comment at this time. Our hearts go out to the homeowners and all involved,” OUC Public Relations Manager Derek Hudson said in an email.
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