SWEETWATER, Fla. – An optical network unit was left burned after catching fire in a Sweetwater neighborhood Tuesday afternoon, with the cause still unclear.
“It exploded and caught fire,” said Eddy Pérez, who attempted to extinguish the flames with a hose.
Just before the fire, which was reported near the 12000 block of Northwest Ninth Lane, neighbors reported hearing an explosion, followed by a sudden power outage.
“My house, my family, my kids were inside,” Pérez said.
Perez’s neighbor, Elpidio Medina, shouted at him to “stop,” warning that he could have been electrocuted following the outage.
“Get back! That could kill you,” Medina recalled saying to Perez.
According to the neighbors, this fire marks the third time they’ve experienced electrical issues in recent months, leading to unexpected power outages.
Fire rescue crews responded to assist in putting out the blaze. As a temporary fix, Florida Power & Light laid cables above ground to restore electricity to the affected families.
Unfortunately, many residents lost appliances due to the outage, with microwaves, refrigerators, and other electronics no longer functioning.
Contractors working on behalf of FPL arrived in the neighborhood Wednesday afternoon to address the issue, stating they plan to install new underground cables to fix the problem permanently.
FPL released a statement on Wednesday, which you can read here: