MELBOURNE, Fla. – As fire threats remain high in Central Florida, one family is feeling thankful that firefighters stopped a 30-acre brush fire that came within feet of their mobile home.
News 6 reporter James Sparvero was on the scene Wednesday on John Rodes Boulevard as it took crews from multiple fire departments six hours to contain the fire.
Sparvero went back to the neighborhood Wednesday to meet a brave woman who helped evacuate her mother while, for a moment, fighting the fire herself.
Dharasena Odom said the fire got to within ten feet of her mom’s at the Lamplighter Village 55 and over mobile home community.
“My mom said she started seeing ashes, and I told her, ‘Mom, that’s normal because of the fire that’s across the street.’ And she was like, ‘No, Dari, like, there’s ashes.’ And so I look out the door, and I see right over there, I see fire,” Odom explained.
Odom was looking at the 30-acre fire across John Rodes, which then began to spark a smaller fire on her side of the road.
“And so, I immediately turned back to my mom and I said, ‘I need you to stay calm. I need you to grab your cats, and I need you to get in the car and go.’ And so, I came out here, I grabbed the hose, and I started watering it down,” she said.
Odom said she stopped her attempt to stop the fire when she saw how big it was getting.
“It engulfed over the entire fence, and I saw it go up the trees, and I dropped the hose immediately and said, ‘God, this is in your hands.’ And it’s literally, by the grace of God, as you can see, it didn’t damage anything,” she said.
Odom said her mother is still shaken up but also feels very blessed and favored.
Some crews were back at the site of the fire again on Wednesday.
Melbourne’s public information officer said firefighters were still working hot spots.
When it comes to brush fires encroaching upon your property, firefighters say it’s always best to call 911 and leave it to the professionals because the fire can move so fast.
Odom said that in the middle of evacuating her mother and using her own hose, she was able to still call 911 too.
