BARTOW, Fla. (FOX 13) – The chief of Polk Fire Rescue is defending the decisions made by his crews at a house fire in which a 76-year-old woman died.
“It’s a horrible situation,” said Chief Tony Stravino Wednesday. “But I don’t know what we could have done differently.”
The fire broke out at Loretta Pickard’s log cabin, which sat in a wooded area off Rock Ridge Road in North Lakeland. Pickard was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher for 20 minutes waiting for help to arrive. A dispatcher repeatedly told her that someone would be there to save her.
Crews were there, fighting the fire from outside, but did not enter the house.
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However, Polk Fire Rescue Chief Tony Stravino says his people, including the captain in charge of the scene, James Williams, tried. “Two different crews made an attempt and said it was untenable to get into it. Engine 23, and Engine 6. Two different captains, two crews,” he said.
