Tow Truck Driver's Chance Encounter Sparks Freeport Fire Response
A tow truck driver’s roadside stop on Highway 20 West turned into a lifesaving 911 call Monday night when a man ran up to the truck reporting a nearby home was engulfed in flames.
At 11:28 p.m. on August 17, Walton County Fire Rescue was dispatched to a single-wide mobile home on Highway 20 West in the Portland community, just west of Freeport. The tow truck driver had been stopped on the side of the road when the man approached and alerted him to the fire. The driver immediately called 911, setting the emergency response in motion.
Walton County Sheriff’s Office deputies were the first to arrive and found heavy flames and smoke pouring from the mobile home. Engine 12 crews from WCFR’s Freeport station arrived within minutes and immediately began searching for anyone who might have been trapped inside. After multiple sweeps, firefighters confirmed the home was unoccupied.
With assistance from Eglin Air Force Base Fire & Emergency Services, crews knocked down the blaze within minutes of arriving on scene, preventing it from spreading to nearby structures. Highway 20 West was temporarily shut down while firefighters worked to extinguish the flames, closing a key corridor that Freeport commuters use between Freeport and the Portland community to the west.
The Portland community sits along Highway 20 West, roughly 10 miles west of downtown Freeport. WCFR’s Freeport station, located at 100 Washington Street, provides primary fire and emergency medical coverage for the area. The agency, a division of the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, serves all unincorporated areas of Walton County north of Choctawhatchee Bay, including the city of Freeport.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.
Originally reported by Walton County Fire Rescue.
Images: Walton County Fire Rescue
