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VOL 18 No. 27
April 18, 2018
Combustible flare closes portion of beach BY CINDY LANE SUN STAFF WRITER | clane@amisun.com
JESSICA BOCK | SUBMITTED
Firefighters dealt with exploding flames and thick smoke when they arrived on the scene at the surf shop fire.
Surf shop fire causes $250,000 in damages
ANNA MARIA - A naval flare that washed up on the beach on Wednesday, April 11, injuring a beachgoer, prompted city officials to close the beach between Cedar and Willow avenues until Friday. Beachgoers saw the Mark 58 naval flare on fire on the beach on Wednesday and pushed it back into the water, attempting to put the fire out. When it continued to burn, they called for help, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Dave Bristow said. A fire extinguisher was ineffective, but the fire went out when officials submerged the device in a garbage can full of water, he said. Early Thursday morning, a 26-year-old man found a fragment of the device and put it in his pocket, where it later ignited and burned him, Bristow said. He was treated at Blake Medical Center. The Manatee County HazMat team identified the device, which contains highly flammable phosphorus, Bristow said, adding that HazMat planned to turn the device over to the U.S. Department of Defense. HazMat personnel searched for fragments on the beach Thursday night – phosphorus glows in the dark – but found nothing, leading to the reopening of the beach on Friday morning. Fragments may still wash ashore, officials warn. If you see an object on the beach that you cannot identify, do not touch it, but call 911.
West Coast Surf Shop owners Jim and Ronee Brady vow to rebuild and reopen, possibly within 60 to 90 days. BY CINDY LANE AND JOE HENDRICKS SUN STAFF WRITERS | clane@amisun.com, jhendricks@amisun.com
HOLMES BEACH – A fire caused an estimated quarter-million dollars in damage to the iconic West Coast Surf Shop, 3902 Gulf Drive, the afternoon of Sunday, April 15, but everyone got out safely with no injuries, according to fire officials. Three members of the sales staff on duty evacuated about 30 people from the store, West Manatee Fire Rescue Marshall Jim Davis said. “The employees did a good job of getting everyone out safely,” WMFR Battalion Chief Ben Rigney said. While early observers suggested that lightning was the cause, since the fire occurred during a thunderstorm, an investigation later in the day showed that the fire was electrical and involved a neon light near
SCOTT MOORE | SUBMITTED
Beachgoers watch from a safe distance as the fire dies down. a window at the front of the shop, he said. Jim and Ronee Brady, who have owned the store for nearly 55 years, were on Florida’s east coast with their grandson, Giorgio Gomez, who was compet-
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WINDY, wet
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Anna Maria Island, Florida
CITY OF ANNA MARIA | SUBMITTED
The naval flare as it burned on the beach in the city of Anna Maria.
SEE FIRE, PAGE 40
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