Bennett gets information: Lehigh Acres Assistant Chief and Fire Marshal Kenneth Bennett, left, gathers information from Lt. Rudolfo Narajo about a fire in a vacant house far from other homes, which is believed to be of a suspicious nature or origin. Photo by Mel Toadvine

Ken Bennett has one of those jobs that keeps him busy on days, some nights and on some weekends and sometimes even 24/7. But he doesn’t mind it, he says. He is an assistant chief and fire marshal at the Lehigh Acres Fire and Rescue District.

If there’s a fire of an undetermined nature, it is his responsibility, along with Fire Inspector Mark Spears, to find out what they can about how a fire started.

Firefighters on the scene of a blaze are his first link to the fire.

“What happened, what do we have here,” he may ask one of the firefighters.

And the answer could be, “it’s a vacant house with no electricity, suspicious.”

Bennett with Lt. Rudolfo are shown standing in front of a vacant house that has burned to the ground. There was no electricity hooked up to the house and nearby residents reported having seen people go into the house. Photo by Mel Toadvine

That’s when the fire marshal and Spears jump into action.

“We have to wait until the all-clear is given though by the firefighters … making sure the fire is out before we go inside. A fire can rekindle and it can be dangerous walking through a house or the brush when fire is still burning,” Bennett said.

Just recently firefighters reported to a vacant house fire on a back road, located away from nearby houses, except for a few on another street, but buffered with brush.

“I talked to Lt. Rudolfo Narajo when I arrived on the scene. I was called because the cause of the blaze was termed suspicious,” Bennett said. While talking to Narajo, Fire Inspector Mark Spears was told someone behind the house and brush had told firefighters they had seen people in the vacant dwelling.

While Bennett is gaining more knowledge before he steps into the still burning house with hot embers, he takes in the information visually and from what he is being told by the lieutenant.

Spears may come back with information that indicates that children or homeless people had been in the vacant house. With that information, and with more that Bennett and Spears may gain, they know for sure that the house didn’t burn on its own.

They know it is a suspicious fire and they know that means it could have been started intentionally and was more likely to have been since there had been no lighting on the day or the night before the fire. When there are storms, lightning sparks can often ignite dry brush.

With the evidence they have gathered, they send it off to Fort Myers to the State Fire Marshal’s Office, who will a final call.

If information is gathered to determine how suspects may have started the fire, that information is passed on to. And often if people were seen and can be described, the fire can be deemed arson and suspects can be sought.

It’s an interesting job that Bennett enjoys, he said. It could be because of his genetic makeup. He has a sister and a brother who are also professional firefighters in other areas of the state.

Bennett says he had always wanted to be a firefighter, ever since he was a kid, so it was natural for him to choose that type of profession.

“I’ve enjoyed what I do and now that I am an investigator, I find it rewarding,” Bennett said.

His offices are headquartered at the fire station off of Milwaukee Blvd. on Thomas Sherwin Ave., a few blocks from East Lee County High School. But his office can actually be anywhere he is for that matter. He can be at any of the local fire stations and working with the evidence he and Spears have gathered.

His days start off usually with information supplied to him from the Dept. of Forestry which measures the conditions existing and report a certain index number regarding the likelihood of a fire due to weather conditions to the different fire departments in the counties. That number is often given on nightly local weather forecasts.

“I know in the morning if there is a good possibility of a fire … if the drought index is high, the conditions outside in the brush are dry, or whatever,” Bennett said.

That information is supplied to the chief and firefighters, he said, to give them a sense that a fire reported during this time period could be worse than perhaps on another day when the winds are not blowing or the humidity is higher.

He keeps records of the number of fires in the large territory that the Lehigh Acres Fire District covers and it is vast, larger than most areas in Southwest Florida.

“Some people believe that if we have rain one day, then the conditions are not as dangerous for brush fires, but generally that is not the case. The next day, he said, can carry a ‘red flag’ warning because the humidity has dropped and the winds have dried things out that fast.

One thing Bennett and other firefighters agree on everywhere about the origin of a fire is this: If lightning or a malfunction of electricity didn’t start the blaze, than it was started by a human. It could be an arson or it could be from an accident, such as not putting a fire out when burning vegetation outside or not having put out a camp fire from an outside barbecue.

“People should douse those fires with a lot of water. If they don’t, embers in the ashes can come alive with a little bit of wind and there can be a fire and it could lead to a big brush fire,” Bennett said.

The Lehigh Acres Fire Dept. has fought many smaller brush fires over the past few months, but one was a 30-acre brush fire off of Lathan and Quebec Rds. With the quick response effort called for by Chief Don Adams, who sends out “all he has” fires can be contained or at least, homes can be protected, which is the first obligation of fighting any fire, to save the home and its residents.

Lehigh has had its share of bad fires. Several years ago, wild fires destroyed a large acreage and several homes.

“When there’s a big fire, I am on it as fast as I can get to it,” he said. Chief Don Adams also responds to nearly every fire.

He was asked that in his professional judgment, why do people start fires?

“It can be for the thrill and excitement of it,” Bennett said. “For some, perhaps kids, they think they are like a hero to other kids.

“Then there is the monetary gain for some because they think their insurance companies will pay up, but if it can be proven that it was intentionally started, the person can be arrested and face criminal charges,” Bennett said.

In some areas, owners of homes that are being foreclosed on, have burned and were intentionally set. That has not been a big problem in Lehigh, Bennett went on to say.

“Then we have our vandalism cases, where culprits enter a house, being lived in or even empty and steel what they can and to leave no evidence, they think, set the house on fire,” Bennett continued.

“There have been cases where people have stolen air conditioning units and appliances inside am empty house and copper and then set the house on fire to cover their tracks,” he said.

But with a thorough investigation and evidence and with the cooperation between the fire marshal in Lehigh and the State Office of the Fire Marshal, many cases can be solved.

Bennett lives in LaBelle and says he can get to Lehigh fast enough if there is reason to believe a fire is suspicious in the night. He is provided a car for that reason.

Bennett urges people to keep their eyes open when they see something unusual in a neighborhood. That information can often help fire investigators come up with important clues needed to determine who may have caused suspicious fires.

Bennett not only is an assistant fire chief but is often a representative to the media when there are fires. He can provide information about the fire and if he doesn’t have everything, he always gets back with the answers, if possible.

In his profession, there is no greater person than a firefighter. They can save precious life and stop wildfires from spreading and becoming a threat to other areas.

“These men do a great job,” the fire marshal said.