Fire ravages Alligator Point home

An early morning fire Friday, July 5 completely destroyed an Alligator Point vacation home, but thanks to the quick thinking of some neighborhood teenagers, no one was hurt.

Dickie Hosford, president of the Alligator Point Volunteer Fire Department, said the fire started sometime after 12:30 a.m. at a house at 1577 Alligator Drive.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the state fire marshals office, and Hosford said preliminary indications are the fire may have originated in a utility room where a golf cart charger was plugged in, or perhaps at the lithium battery in the golf cart which was parked next to the house.

“The fire then spread to the rest of the house, and to some cars parked next to the golf cart,” said Hosford. “We were very blessed that it wasn’t very windy.

“By the time we got hooked up to the hydrant the house was fairly engulfed,” he said. “We were focusing on putting the house out and on the two structures alongside.”

Hosford said Alligator Point firefighters used “swatters” to put out flames that were on the grass in front of the house.

The family, a grandfather, parents and children, were asleep when the fire broke out, and were woken up by some neighborhood youth.

“Some neighbors came home and saw the fire, and alerted the family and everyone escaped safely,” Hosford said. “I went and talked to them about their heroism.”

He said the house, cars, and golf cart appeared to be total losses. Members of the Carrabelle Volunteer Fire Department assisted in tackling the blaze.

“We were there until sunup looking for hot spots,” said Hosford. “Everybody got a couple hours of sleep and came back for some more cleanup.

“There was no loss of life and that was a blessing for everyone,” he said. “If those kids had not done what they did, it could have been a lot worse.”