BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Multiple fire units responded to the scene of a brushfire that has involved multiple homes in the U.S. Highway 1 area near Cocoa and Sharpes on Friday afternoon.


What You Need To Know

  •  A damaging brushfire was reported in Brevard County Friday

  •  At one point, officials said it grew to as large as 15 acres and caused around 50 homes to be evacuated

  • They say eight homes were damaged in the fire, which has been completely contained, with four of those being completely destroyed

About 50 homes in a four-block area were evacuated — eight homes were damaged, with four of those being completely destroyed, Brevard Fire spokesman Don Walker said. The area was Monroe to Cherry and Broadway to Akorn Street, Walker said. The Red Cross will be called in to help the families, he said.

Several families in Cocoa whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the fire are now trying to figure out the next steps.

Russell Dingman said he was out running errands when he saw smoke and knew something was wrong, but as he tried making his way back home, cars were blocking the road.

“I said, 'I have to get my dog — if you’re talking about evacuations I definitely need to get my dog,'” he told Specrtrum News Friday afternoon.

Just yards away from his own, Dingman saw his neighbor's destroyed home and stopped to take in what had happened.

"I think everyone's just trying to process it at this point, because it's such an unusual event," he said. “It’s frightening because I thought it was just going to be a normal day.”

Additional tractor units were requested to fight the blaze — named the Persimmons Fire by the Florida Forest Service — and to try to protect homes in the area, fire officials said.

The fire, which originally was reported at 3 acres, grew to 15 acres Friday evening before officials reported it was 100% contained just after 6 p.m.

Dark smoke could be seen in the area, and water drops were performed to try to help contain the fire.

The cause of the fire is unknown, authorities said.

One firefighter had to be transported to a medical facility to be treated for heat exhaustion, Brevard officials confirmed.

Florida Power & Light shut down power in the area for safety reasons. About 400 homes have been affected.