Cigarette sparks 8-acre brush fire in South County

Family of 2 displaced after Monday house fire

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A mother and son were displaced from their home after a kitchen fire spread throughout the property late Monday, leaving heavy damage. The residents were not hurt, but two birds and a dog were killed in the blaze, said Steve Greer, Assistant Chief with Indian River County Fire Rescue. "They were cooking on the stove," Greer said, describing what led up to the flames. Firefighters responded to the incident about 7:07 p.m. at the residence in the 3400 block of 2nd Place in the Emerson Park neighborhood, south of 4th Street. Crews arrived and saw heavy flames coming from the front of the home, Greer said. Fire crews knocked down the blaze. Greer said the property ...

Southwinds condo building evacuated after fire

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Firefighters put out a blaze that led officials to evacuate the Southwinds Condominium complex on the barrier island Thursday afternoon. No injuries were reported from the fire, which sheriff's officials suspect was caused by lightning. Two families were displaced from the fire, Indian River County Fire Rescue Bureau Chief Richard Marini said. It was unclear if Red Cross South Florida Region was helping the families. "Only two families were living in the building at the time," Marini said. "The rest of the building was vacant." Indian River County Fire Rescue crews and sheriff's deputies responded to the blaze about 1 p.m. at the condominium complex in the 2200 block of North Southwinds Boulevard, Marini said. The ...

Compactor fire leads to brief evacuation of Vero Beach Walmart; no injuries reported

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — No injuries were reported after a compactor fire caused a nearly hour-long evacuation at the Walmart Supercenter in Vero Beach, fire rescue officials said. The small blaze started about 4:45 p.m. Wednesday in the compactor near the loading dock outside of the store, Indian River County Department of Emergency Services Chief Tad Stone said. The giant retail chain is located at 5555 20th Street, east of 58th Avenue. The flames did not spread, but the smoke veered into a storage area, Stone said. The area where customers were shopping was not impacted by the smoke. Fire crews evacuated the building, and then extinguished the flames within 15 minutes, Stone said. Customers briefly waited in the parking ...