Photos & Story by
SEAN PAMPLONA
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue

On Tuesday, June 18th 2002, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue units responded to a late morning fire which destroyed the home of an off-duty Royal Palm Beach Police Officer.

Units from Station #21 arrived to find a single story residential structure fully involved.

A "fill-alarm" response was initiated bringing additional resources and manpower.

The wood-frame home was built on stilts and had a three-foot crawl space underneath where the fire was believed to have originated.

The officer and his spouse barely escaped without injury as the fire rapidly consumed the home.

Within minutes, portions of the home began to collapse.

At 11:08AM, 18 minutes after the first arrival unit, a total collapse of the structure occured.

Units poured water on the structure in an defensive operation.

Twenty-Two firefighters on eleven units operated on scene for 4 hours.

The home was a total loss.

The cause of the fire has been deemed undetermined-probably electrical.

There were no injuries to fire personnel.