Polk County House Fire Kills One

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on March 6, 2017

On Sunday, Polk County Fire Officials and residents were dismayed by a sudden and violent fire in a mobile home that took the life of one man. This fire, the fifth fatal house fire that has occurred in Polk County since the start of the year, was initially spotted by Breezy Calvillo, a neighbor of the mobile home that burnt to the ground, as she was walking back from eating a late snack. In a report that has since become part of the official record, Calvillo says that at around midnight she saw the flames flashing through the windows of her neighbor’s mobile home. After parking her car at her own home on Windsor Lane, Calvillo contacted the firefighters in Polk County, gathered some friends together, and went to try and combat what was quickly becoming an out-of-control fire.

As she and her friends used a standard garden hose to try and subdue the fire they noticed a vehicle parked in front of the unit. People began to bang on the doors of the house, shouting for whoever might be inside to get out if they could. Due to the extreme heat, the windows in the unit began to explode, showering the lawn with molten glass and preventing anyone from attempting to actually enter the structure.

When the fire and rescue teams arrived they began to douse the crumbling home with their high-powered water cannons. After being alerted to the possible presence of an individual inside the mobile home the crews also geared up and entered the unit as quickly as possible. Inside, they found an unconscious man. Despite the best efforts of the response crews, the man was not able to be revived. He was rushed to the hospital, but pronounced dead shortly thereafter.

According to a statement made by the Polk County Fire Rescue spokesperson, Kevin Walter, mobile homes are extremely flammable buildings due to the construction material traditionally used on them. This makes it somewhat difficult to pinpoint exactly what caused the fire as there are any number of possible causes that, in less delicate homes, would not have led to such a deadly outcome.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.