{"id":324862,"date":"2026-06-30T17:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T17:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/324862\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T17:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T17:07:10","slug":"islands-fire-districts-partners-respond-to-house-fire-sanibel-captiva","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/324862\/","title":{"rendered":"Islands fire districts, partners respond to house fire – SANIBEL-CAPTIVA"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\nThe Sanibel Fire and Rescue District, assisted by the Captiva Island Fire Control District and several other partner agencies, responded to a house fire on June 22 on Brainard Bayou Road on Sanibel.<\/p>\n

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\nThe Sanibel Fire and Rescue District, assisted by the Captiva Island Fire Control District and several other partner agencies, responded to a house fire on June 22 on Brainard Bayou Road on Sanibel.<\/p>\n

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\nThe Sanibel Fire and Rescue District, assisted by the Captiva Island Fire Control District and several other partner agencies, responded to a house fire on June 22 on Brainard Bayou Road on Sanibel.<\/p>\n

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An island home has been deemed a total loss and uninhabitable as a result of a fire last week.<\/p>\n

On June 22 at about 3:30 p.m., the Sanibel Fire and Rescue District received a call for a smoke investigation at the J.N. \u201cDing\u201d Darling National Wildlife Refuge with no further details provided.<\/p>\n

Fire Chief Kevin Barbot reported that Station 172 on Sanibel-Captiva Road responded.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur crews pulled out and immediately saw black smoke coming from a neighborhood a couple of blocks away,\u201d he said, explaining that they pinpointed the correct fire location on Brainard Bayou Road and immediately notified their team and partner agencies that it was a working structure fire instead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe upgraded our response to have the appropriate assets,\u201d Barbot added.<\/p>\n

He explained that fewer assets respond to a smoke investigation versus if it is a structure fire.<\/p>\n

The location was a two-story single-family residence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had heavy fire in the attic, which makes it difficult to attack from the interior because we have to keep our guys\u2019 safety at the forefront,\u201d Barbot said, explaining that they have to knock down the fire before they can enter the structure in these situations.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny time fire spreads into the attic and specifically from side to side in the home, so across the entire attic, it makes it just that more difficult for us to attack the fire and get it knocked down,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The Captiva Island Fire Control District responded to the scene to assist, as well as the Iona-McGregor Fire District, South Trail Fire & Rescue District, Sanibel Police Department and Lee County EMS.<\/p>\n

Captiva Fire Chief Jeff Pawul reported that when his crew arrived, one was assigned to search and rescue to ensure that there were no victims and the other established a water supply to a hydrant.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe initial search crew had to exit once the ceiling collapsed because the trusses were compromised at that point,\u201d he said, adding that the homeowner confirmed about the same time that no one was inside.<\/p>\n

Firefighters transitioned to exterior control of the fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took about an hour to comfortably say the fire was under control,\u201d Barbot said.<\/p>\n

They called it completely extinguished another hour and a half later.<\/p>\n

There were no reported injuries nor hospital transports.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a very hot day,\u201d he said, explaining that the crews had to rotate and stay hydrated because of the conditions. \u201cWe needed to make sure that we swapped out the crews every 10 or 15 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely hot, it was humid. It\u2019s hard dirty work,\u201d Pawul said. \u201cStructure fires in Southwest Florida are definitely tough and challenging in this heat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s something that our guys train for on a daily basis to acclimate themselves to,\u201d he added. \u201cEverybody there, I think, did a good job of that \u2014 it was quite the effort and undertaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fire investigation found the cause of the fire as underdetermined.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could not find the ignition source,\u201d Barbot said.<\/p>\n

He reported that the home will be a total loss and deemed unsafe.<\/p>\n

The American Red Cross was contacted to assist the homeowner.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an unfortunate situation for the family,\u201d Pawul said.<\/p>\n

Barbot noted that the crews were able to keep the roof intact and prevent it from collapsing, so the homeowners will be able to recover personal belongings that could get wet, which may be a lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think our crews did a phenomenal job in making sure the home didn\u2019t come down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n


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