QUICK LINK
Polk County and Lakeland Firefighters battle stubborn demolition trailer fire.
POLK COUNTY, FL - Late Tuesday afternoon, April 19th, 2005, Polk County Firefighters from Station 23 in Providence were dispatched to a fire in a trailer used to store debris from a house under demolition. The trailer was full, but was under repairs for inoperable hydraulics. Since the hydraulics used to empty the trailer were out of service, firefighters attempted to extinguish and then pull the burning debris out manually.
Mutual Aid was requested from the City of Lakeland Fire Department and Engine 31 responded to assist. Attempts to cut access points with circular saws proved too difficult. A large wrecker was used to open the roof doors, which helped somewhat. After several hours of hard work and thousands of gallons of water, the decision was made by the Incident Commander, Battalion Chief Steve Lajoie, to allow the remaining debris to burn until the amount left was at a manageable size for overhaul.