OKEECHOBEE — Okeechobee County Fire Rescue had a busy week with a total of 190 calls, including 119 medical emergencies.

In addition to the medical emergencies, motor vehicle accidents and service calls, they dealt with 14 fires.

A mower was the cause of a fire in Lazy Seven on Feb. 12 at approximately 10:30 a.m. Station 1 was dispatched to Southwest 48^th Street. When they arrived, they found approximately an acre burning. The fire was moving slowly but moving toward a structure on the property. Along with the Forestry Service, crews were able to extinguish the fire. In the end, it had burned approximately two acres.

Station 2 was dispatched to the intersection of State Road 78 West and Southwest 44^th Lane at approximately 11:45 a.m. on Feb. 12 regarding a boat fire. While enroute, they were told the fire might have extended into nearby brush. When they arrived, they saw a smoke column originating from an area within the lake, but there was no visible way to get to the fire. They contacted FWC, who told them they had investigated in an airboat and determined there was no boat involved. It was only a brush fire. The florida forestry Service arrived and cancelled responding units.

Dispatched to cover a brush fire in the solar fields, Station 4 arrived at the scene on U.S. 441 North on Feb. 13 at approximately 2 p.m. The forestry service was called as well. When they arrived, they found about one acre on fire, and the fire was almost to the solar panels. After the fire was extinguished, they turned the scene over to FPL.

On Feb. 14, Station 1 was dispatched to Northeast 122^nd Drive at approximately 3:30 p.m. in regard to a vehicle fire. While enroute, dispatch told them there was a grass fire surrounding the vehicle and spreading. The vehicle was a complete loss, and approximately .5 acres were burned before the fire was extinguished. Due to magnesium in the vehicle, the fire was hard to extinguish, the report notes. The owner of the truck told firefighters he recently bought the vehicle, picked it up from a storage unit and was driving it home. While making the turn onto State Road 70 from Northeast 128^th Avenue, he noticed smoke coming from under the truck. He pulled over and saw the engine and the transmission were on fire. A passerby with a fire extinguisher tried to put the fire out but was unsuccessful. The cause was determined to be engine malfunction.

On Feb. 15 at approximately 1:15 p.m., Station 1 was dispatched to Northwest 160^th Drive regarding a brush fire. The property owner called 911 to say he had a fire on his property. Two engines and two brush trucks were dispatched and found aa fire about 5 acres. The fire was moving slowly, and the owner was trying to contain it with his tractor. Once the fire was extinguished, the crews looked for hot spots before leaving the scene and turning it over to the department of forestry.

Firefighters responded to another brush fire on Feb. 15 at approximately 5:45 p.m. Station 4 was dispatched to an area on Northeast 366^th Trail. When they arrived, they discovered a brush fire near structures in Fort Drum. Approximately 2 acres were burning in heavy fuel. Brush 4 was able to contain the east flank with a booster line, and Brush 2 and Engine 1 were able to extinguish the west. Once the fire was extinguished, they checked for hot spots while the forestry service plowed around the perimeter.

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