Hillsborough County Fire Rescue responded to a house fire just after 10 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27, but were unable to save the house.
The Howell Road house was fully involved and there was already a partial roof collapse by the time crews arrived. Crews determined it was unsafe to enter the house and started a defensive attack from the outside.
Howell Road is a dead end, and the house was down a long dirt driveway. The recent rain made it difficult to move heavy equipment into position and maintain a water supply. Hydrants are further apart in rural parts of the county, and HCFR had three tankers on scene to shuttle water from the hydrant to the engine crews attacking the fire.
Downed power lines and property fences also created a unique scenario for crews to maneuver. TECO arrived on scene around 11 p.m. and cut power to the downed lines.
During the shuttle operation and tight maneuvering of large vehicles, one of the firefighters sustained a minor injury and was taken to the hospital. The firefighter was released later that evening.
Initial reports stated the homeowner rarely left the home, but with assistance from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, fire rescue was able to locate the family of the homeowner and learned he was not home at the time of the fire.
An excavator arrived shortly after midnight to assist in the demolition of a free-standing section of the home to extinguish the last of the flames.
A fire investigator was on scene to determine the cause of the fire, but no additional information on the cause has been released.