ORLANDO, Fla — An Orlando family says it has settled with the city after its house caught fire during Hurricane Milton. This comes as 9 Investigates received and reviewed the radio transmissions from that call.
It happened in October 2024 as Hurricane Milton was barreling down on Florida. A power line fell, sparking a fire at the Darr family’s house.
Dispatchers listened as call after call came in. Dispatch said at least six to 10 calls came in concerning two to three houses, with one seeming to he almost completely burnt.
Just after the fire engulfed their home, the couple’s daughter posted a GoFundMe campaign to try to raise money for her parents to rebuild.
Emily Darr is questioning the fire department, claiming they did not put the fire out when they first arrived that night. She wrote on the fundraiser description, “After leaving the scene without notice, the fire continued to burn, and less than an hour later, it grew out of control, engulfing the entire house, truck, and food truck. When the fire department finally returned, it was already too late, and everything had been lost.”
9 Investigates got a hold of the the radio traffic from that day that shows exactly why fire crews left an active fire. They were worried about a live power line. Here is what the call said:
Dispatch: “Orlando to Engine 6. Be advised. OUC (Orlando Utilities Commission) is no longer responding due to the weather.”
Response: “Engine 6 to Orlando. I find that response unacceptable. We need them to control power to this before we can put this fire out.”
Dispatch: “Engine 6, stand by.”
Second dispatcher: “Orlando to Engine 6. OUC is not responding. You can return to service.”
Without those firefighters, the flames grew and more 911 calls came in. Crews were dispatched again and arrived back at the scene of the fire for a second time with power to the home still active.
Here’s what happened next on the radio traffic: “Heavy rescue to command. Engine 101′s officer is down. He is conscious and alert, but he looks like he might have been shocked.”
Firefighters then demanded help, saying, “Command, I need OUC here now.”
On that second call, a firefighter was shocked by electricity, burning a hole in his foot.
According to firefighters on scene, Orlando Utilities Commission finally turned the power off remotely after the injury. That allowed crews to fight the fire.
However, it’s unclear why the power couldn’t have been remotely turned off in the first place.
9 Investigates reached out to Orlando Utilities Commission via email. The commission responded by saying it is working on our request.
Now the Orlando fire union’s president, Doug Zabin, says a full investigation from multiple agencies should be done and charges should be filed.
“It’s just unconscionable to me that we’re not looking into this situation. In my 23 years here at the fire department, this is the closest that we’ve come to losing a member in the line of duty. And to not have a transparent, full investigation and reviewing of everything that happened on that call and on that day to ensure that it never happens again, it’s just unacceptable,” said Zabin.
Zabin has asked the fire marshal to investigate. So far, the fire marshal has not agreed to look into the incident.
As for the Orlando Fire Department, a representative said, “With respect to the incident referenced, the Orlando Fire Department administration has reviewed all pertinent facts involved. We have determined that our current protocols do address this situation, which has also been covered in our Safety Officer training. Incidents of this type were also discussed by the Departments Health and Safety Committee and all Firefighter injuries are referred to Risk Management. As a result of this incident the Department is drafting safety messaging to remind fire personnel to review and reference the SOPs which outline important guidelines to respond to structure fires involving power lines, and we’re in the process of partnering with OUC for additional training.”
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