Photo by Mike Jachles, PIO/ BSFR

Around 2 p.m. yesterday, a fire was reported to Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue (BSFR) in the 5300 block of NE 8 Avenue in Deerfield Beach. When units arrived, heavy smoke was showing. A search of the house produced a 80-year-old woman from the back bedroom that was removed by fire fighters.  The woman is in good shape.

A commercial Structure at 849 S Deerfield Ave ignited just before 3 p.m. on Tues Apr 10.  First units started attacking a 2 bay garage and called for a 2nd alarm. Ladder 102 put a crew on the roof and multiple lines were pulled which knocked this thing down quick.

VIDEO of the crews and command on OBSERVERTV

(Deerfield Beach, FL) – Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue crews quickly brought a two-alarm fire under control in a Deerfield Beach apartment building Monday evening, Jan. 23. The fire was reported just after 6:30 p.m. at the Lime Tree Apartments, 1180 SE 4 Ave. First arriving firefighters encountered heavy fire in apartment 100 and began extinguishing the blaze. Other firefighters searched adjoining apartments and rescued several kittens and a cat from a smoke-filled neighboring unit. The male resident of unit #100 was found outside by firefighters with burn injuries and was transported by BSFR to North Broward Medical Center. His age and condition were not available Monday night. The kittens and cat were treated by firefighter/paramedics on the scene and administered oxygen through pet masks carried on BSFR rescue units. A total of five apartments were uninhabitable however, three of the five units were vacant at the time of the fire. The American Red Cross Disaster Action Team was called to assist six displaced residents. Inspectors from the Broward Sheriff Fire Marshals Bureau and State Fire Marshals detectives worked late into the evening investigating the cause and origin of the fire.

UPDATE 8:52PM

Five apartments are uninhabitable and the American Red Cross Disaster Action Team is assisting  with the displaced residents

Broward Sheriff FIre Rescue units responded to a 2-alarm fire at the Lime Tree apartments .The first call came in around 6:40 p.m. Monday Jan 23. Firefighters made an aggressive attack on the fire, declaring it out in about 20 minutes. Primary and secondary searches were conducted however no victims were found. One patient is being treated for a medical condition. There was heavy smoke in the structure which required ventilation while firefighters checked for any extension of fire.

The Broward Sheriff Fire Marshals Bureau and the State Fire Marshal’s Office will conduct the cause and origin investigation

 see video after the knockdown on ObserverTV

At around 6:25 a.m. this morning Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue (Deerfield Beach) responded to Advance

Auto Parts at NW 3 and Hillsboro for a reported fire. Units from Deerfield and back up from Engine 23 quickly

knocked down the fire inside the store that was centered on the

north side of business.

To see video of the scene after the knockdown click on ObserverTV “Latest Video’s”

A Deerfield Beach woman who had a heated argument with her boyfriend is now facing arson charges after setting their apartment on fire.

The call came into the Broward Sheriff’s Office Communications Center at around 10:30 a.m. Sunday (Today). Shawanda Robinson was arguing with the father of her infant twin girls at 929 Springs Drive in Deerfield, when the discussion escalated.

Robinson told detectives she set one of his shirts on fire in the closet of their apartment and within minutes the fire was out of control.

Deerfield Beach Fire Rescue units responded and extinguished the blaze, but it caused extensive damage to the structure. The Deerfield Beach Fire Marshal Bureau deemed the building unsafe and the seven other families living in the south tower of the apartment building in Tivoli were displaced and the Red Cross is assisting.

No one was injured and Robinson is facing one count of arson.

At about 11:30A.M.Tuesday morning, while the salvage company was moving debris for the state

investigators a small fire flared up. Deerfield Fire responded with Engine 102 and Ladder 102

to put more water on the ruins. Deerfield Fire will begin manning an engine with off duty

personnel , at the property owners expense until further notice. Mayor Peggy Noland said “it’s

too dangerous to leave it this way”.  She said “the insurance carrier want to bring in their own

investigators and they can’t get here till Thursday”. When asked about a local TV station citing

a determination of arson had been made, Fire Marshall Gary Fernaays  said no ruling had been

made as of yet.  “Some of the media think that suspicious means arson”, it

doesn’t”.

CITY OFFICIALS DISCUSS SAFETY AT THE SITE

Crabby Jacks, at 1015 S.  Federal, in Deerfield Beach,  is the second restaurant this month in Rivertowne Square shopping center at SW 10th and Federal to have a fire.

People cruising by Sunday morning watched as it was burning down between 6:40 and 7:00 a.m. before someone finally called the fire in. Deerfield started rolling on the call at 7 a.m. and quickly called for back up from Pompano and Ft. Lauderdale.

There was a rumor going around town that maybe there was a “firebug” in the area because of a fire at Peking Tokyo Buffet on Aug. 12, which is still closed, less than a 1000 feet from Crabby Jack’s. That fire was a result of grease build up on and around the grill so when the employee fired it up there was a flash fire.

Quitoni from Deerfield fire said it took about 30 minutes to whack down the initial blaze.  BSO cleared out Denny’s next door because it was so hot.  Onlookers were coming by all day. The state Fire Marshall is investigating the fire and we should have an answer soon.

We will have the complete story in our Sept 1 issue of the Observer. To watch video of the Peking Tokyo Buffet fire on Aug 12 and the Crabby Jack’s fire go to ObserverTV and click on” latest videos”

PHOTO BY JEFF GRAVES

At  10:00 a.m. this morning a fire was reported at Peking Tokyo Buffet Located at 1219 S. Federal hwy in Deerfield.  Flames were seen coming through the roof in the back.  Deerfield Fire responded with a full battalion.

The area was blocked off by BSO and is still an active scene.  Cause of fire unknown. Updates to come. See video of the scene on Observer TV

The Division of Forestry at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services enacted today a temporary statewide restriction prohibiting open campfires on all state lands due to extreme drought conditions and increasing wildfire threats.

This temporary restriction against open campfires prohibits all fires placed openly on the ground until further notice or until the threat of wildfire is significantly diminished.  Cooking fires contained in commercially-designated apparatuses such as grills and embedded metal fire rings are not prohibited at this time.

“The Florida Division of Forestry is committed to providing safe and quality recreation areas for the public,” said Jim Karels, Director of the Division of Forestry. “However, we need the public’s help in keeping visitors and natural resources safe by refraining from lighting campfires on state lands.”

The restriction applies to state forest lands and public lands managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Department of Environmental Protection and regional Water Management Districts.

In the past six months, Forestry personnel have responded to more than 3,300 wildfires and battled almost 200,000 acres of burning wildlands across the state. While the majority of these fires were caused by lightning strikes, a large number were acts of arson or human carelessness.

For more information regarding the campfire restrictions on state lands or Florida wildfire activity and to learn how you can help, visit www.fl-dof.com or contact your local Division of Forestry office.