HUGE Fire in Silver Lake
 

While driving home tonight we noticed an enormous amount of fire trucks and police cars blocking off a 4 block radius in Silver Lake. Someone said they saw flames shooting up in the air from someone's house but can't get anymore details. Does anyone know what happened?

Was this just a little while ago. While I was sitting on our,lanai I heard a large boom and our house rattled and the boom lasted for some time. It wasn't like thunder it was a weird sound. Did something blow up?

I guess I used the wrong word to describe the noise. I was like a rolling rumble boom. The whole house shook and the windows rattled.

That could be why fire engines were headed up Morse tonight. Goodness, I hope there were no injuries.

Do you happen to know what street?

the fire started just before sunset and was on matthew just off of tarrson and close to the foot of tracy. we live about 9 houses down tracy - heard what sounded like a muffled backfire followed shortly by smoke. smoke started to go to black and sirens could be heard in the distance. shortly after the flames were visible above the trees of a neighbor house on tracy. hubs took golf cart down the street and flames were through the roof through the center of the house and off to one side. one neighbor reported that the woman who lived there was out walking the dog.

will find out more tomorrow when I go by the house to see if there is anything we can do for who lived there.

Thanks, njbchbum.

ur welcome!

Thanks njbchbum! I'm so glad no one was home. My neighbor said her dishes shook in her china cabinet and we live about 10 blocks away. She said it was a gas explosion. I don't remember ever seeing so many fire trucks and police cars anywhere in TV than last night. I wonder how the neighboring houses fared?

We had thunder and lightning in the last 24 hours, was it last night? I don't remember. Time for us to have lightning rods installed. We've been putting it off.

I too hope and pray that no one was hurt.

I went to look at the house this morning. I did not see any damage to neighboring houses from heat or explosion. The damaged house has inside fire damage and the outside roof and siding are sill in place. I think it had a front kitchen and judging from the smoke on the siding around window that was the origin of the fire. Seeing the neighbors have no damage from an explosion, I assume the sound of explosion was the windows blowing out because of the intense heat buildup. My guess is the house will not be rebuilt.

Pass on anything that any of us could do to help too Njbchbum.

If the home will not be rebuilt, will it be replaced? It sounds awful for those who live there.

The home is a single wide 1978/82 my best guess which would make the home uninsurable AKA self insured. A few years back I was told it cost about $5,000 remove a unit that was a straight pull not on a hill which this one is (not on hill).

I now know for sure the house is a 1986, the owner is a full time resident with her dog and is currently staying with a neighbor up the street and around the corner. I did not speak to the owner but to neighbors. I was told she does have insurance. It remains to be determined if the insurance is replacement value or a depreciated value. The later being my guess. The neighbors are talking about a fund raising effort. With the owner having a roof over her head friends are waiting for input from the insurance company to determine out of pocket loss. A hot spot appeared this morning and the fire dept had to return. Some items were salvaged from drawers in the bedroom.

I'm glad to hear she had insurance.

it is my hope that folks who have worthy items left over from yard sales and/or items here on the 'for sale' forum that do not sell will remember this resident when they are wondering what to do with their stuff.

also hoping that those who are doing the drive-bys [1014 matthew ave] might consider leaving a generic gift card with a neighbor when there - am sure she needs personal basic items at this point; and will need much more in the future. if a re-building fund is not started before we leave, I think i'll just mail a contribution to the resident's mailbox.

my heart goes out to dorothy! she just bought the house about 18 mos ago and has been making it her own ever since! [married to an ex-fire chief/fire fighter I have learned that fire is my greatest fear!] her neighbor shared with me this morning that what I thought was a muffled cart back-fire was probably the electrical system popping just before the flames erupted.

I hope to speak with Dorothy before we fly north in a few weeks - will keep all totv'ers posted with any news that comes my way.

If there is a fund set up, please let everyone know. Villagers stick together. What are her immediate needs, what can we bring, and to whom do we give it?

Just to let you all know, there is NO gas on the old side of TV so it wasn't from lightening.

Since when do you require gas for lightning to cause a fire?

I figured that if some one wanted to send a check to her address/mailbox the check would require her correct name.

mayor - gift cards do not require a name; and even mail sent to resident with a proper address gets stuffed into a mailbox. I was trying to be sensitive to the grief this woman is experiencing by not revealing her name and because I do not have permission to do so.

I will be deleting my post with said info - I hope you will do the same.

I drove past that house last night. Thank God she got out with her little dog in time! What a tragedy!! I will have to help her out as best I can.

I think my reference was to sending a check not a gift card but I could be wrong. As for the name it is public record.

I met Diane the owner of the house for the first time today. She told me the insurance adjuster will be out Tuesday, she needs to find out from the TV what her replacement options are, the cost of said options, she needs to find a place to live, replace her glasses that went up in smoke. Oh, she did say it was an electrical fire.

The insurance company said they will remove the charred remains at no cost to her and if she gets the max insurance amount which she will find out Tuesday she will have $15,000 to replace everything and she needs a place to live in the interim.

You do the numbers, she needs help.

Diane Kiefer, 1014 MATTHEW AVE THE VILLAGES, FL 32159

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Thank you. One picture is worth a thousand words. I am sure help will be forthcoming.

Try not to take this the wrong way, why would a fund be set up if she had insurance?

Although the financials - including what anyone would want to offer in the way of help to her - are really not anyone's business, I'm really surprised she didn't have insurance on her contents. The $15,000 was most likely for the value of the trailer. You don't insure the lot, which btw, in that area is probably valued at $20,000 to $25,000.

maybe because $15,000 won't go very far and because villagers are very caring people and understand that one day it could happen to them?

Are you saying that this unfortunate woman has nothing to worry about because she will receive $15,000 to replace everything she owns, including her home? What planet do you two live on?

Thank God the woman and her little dog were not home when this horrible event happened. It is so sad.

From what the owner (Diane) told me she had pride of ownership in her small home. She had the gray pipes replace, new roof, new flooring and get this, she bought a miter saw and personally put all new molding in the house. I think for every angle I have cut correctly on a miter saw I have cut one backward.

I hope she can afford a second chance.
Diane Kiefer, 1014 MATTHEW AVE THE VILLAGES, FL 32159

Excuse me, where is it said that "she is a poor women",How do you know $15,000 in insurance. For all I know she has a Million Dollar place back home.Just asked a question.? Talk about somebody jumpimg on the bandwagon. Maybe thats what they do on your planet.

I didn't mean poor as in having little or no wealth, I meant poor as in unfortunate. If you had read all the posts, you would have read that another poster said her insurance company would compensate her with $15,000.

I learn long ago, not to believe everything you hear. Just because a poster says certain things. You know a friend of a friend.

Unfortunate situation for anyone.

Seven of the eight homes that have been completely destroyed by lightning in the past eight years have had gas lines running through the attic which is code in either Florida or this area. The one recently burnt I don't know, but Lightning who is a poster here will be able to tell us when he knows.

Lightning, his screen name, is an expert on Lightning, posts on this forum, writes a column in POA newsletter and gives power point presentations on Lightning and is NOT affiliated with any Lightning protection companies.

I think all new construction only has electric and does NOT offer gas utilities, but some people choose to have propane for outdoor kitchens. Something to think about in the lightning capital of the U.S.