COOK ISLAND, Fla. – A fire over the weekend on a remote island in the Florida Keys is under investigation, and has neighbors who live mostly off-the-grid questioning the services they receive on their island.
The fire happened on Cook Island, just off Big Pine Key. It’s only accessible by boat and there are no roads; homeowners collect rainwater and they use solar panels and generators for electricity.
Homeowners John Spencer and Tana Mouflouze said they saw plumes of black smoke billowing into the air on Saturday afternoon after they were alerted to the blaze by a boater.
“We could see the flames totally engulfing the house,” said Spencer. “We dropped everything we were doing, and I alerted the people in the house next to us, and I said, ‘Come on, grab some buckets, we’ve got to go. Marco’s house is on fire.’”
Monroe County Fire Rescue did not immediately respond to the blaze, so after the inferno finally started dissipating, neighbors took action. One neighbor rigged a pump using hoses and sea water from his boat.
“We have no way to get to it -- it was really a tragedy,” said Monroe County Fire Rescue Chief James Callahan. “We got in touch with FWC. They were able to get us out there close to the island, but we still couldn’t get close enough to get on it. It was so shallow.”
Location of island:
Callahan told Local 10 News’ Janine Stanwood the department covers roughly 100 miles, and there are no fire boats.
The department would need many boats to cover the island chain, and that would be costly. Often those vessels cannot get in shallow water, Callahan explained.
“We’ve always known there’s problems should there be a fire out here, that comes with the turf,” Spencer said. “But the fact is, what we didn’t know was that there was no plan should such a situation arise.”
The wooden house is a total loss.
The part-time homeowner declined to comment.
Spencer said residents have reached out to the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority to inquire about water service to the island. FKAA officials confirmed they have been in communication with them.