Firefighter airlifted from multi-acre fire in Manatee County

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — The extreme heat made fighting a late-day fire in Manatee County more difficult.

The flames consumed several acres of land near Seminole Trail in Duette. Dozens of firefighters had the flames under control before sunset, but they’ll continue to stay on site and monitor hot spots as a precaution.

The remnants of the fire are still smoldering and a shed that once stood tall is only a shell. Only a few broken posts and charred belongings remain on the property after the fire tore through acres of land Wednesday afternoon.

“We haven’t had a lot of rain,” Duette Fire Rescue Chief Rocky Parker said. “This grassy area that you see burns hot and moves quick. It moved an acre in almost a minute.”

The emergency call prompted multiple agencies to respond, but most of the crews were volunteers.

“With the lack of manning here in the rural area, sometimes you just got to toughen up and take it on and these guys did,” Parker said.

The danger of their work intensified since heat from the flames was magnified under the scorching sun.

“It was a scary moment, but in one word it was just hot,” Parker said.

The scary moment was captured moments before the fire was contained when one of the firefighters was airlifted to the hospital amid the extreme heat. It’s one of the biggest challenges of the job.

“Yeah, it got a little hot,” Jeaneen Parker said. “However, when you get the adrenaline going and you have the love for the job that you do, none of that matters. Sometimes you don’t feel it.”

Jeaneen Parker was one of the first to respond to the scene.

“The flames were over my head and fast moving,” she said.

She said protecting her community is a labor of love, and when she’s on the job she happens to be surrounded by love. Her husband is the chief and the two have been married for 30 years.

“I love it,” she said. “It’s a good marriage. We both love firefighting and we both love taking care of people in the medical field. It’s a good relationship.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.