Multiple units from The Villages Public Safety Department battled a blaze in a Village of Dunedin home on Wednesday morning.
Firefighters responded at 11:31 a.m. to the fire in the 1400 block of Nugget Place. They reported seeing smoke on the way to the blaze and arrived within four minutes of receiving the initial call for help.
The fire was believed to have started in the attic over the garage at the residence, which was empty because renters had returned home due to the Coronavirus. Firefighters had the blaze extinguished by 11:52 a.m. and were able to save the remaining portion of the structure, which only suffered smoke damage.
Five Villages fire engines and three administrative units responded to the blaze, which remains under investigation. The home’s owners were out of town when the fire broke out and there were no injuries reported.
Villager Barbara Boggs, who lives across the street from the damaged home, was the first to spot the blaze and she immediately called 911.
“I could smell something burning,” she said. “I turned around and the flames were shooting right out of the corner of that roof by the garage. All of a sudden smoke just started blowing.”
Boggs added that she was quite impressed with the Villages firefighters who quickly had the blaze under control and extinguished.
“They were excellent,” she said. “They were right on it.”