A golf cart fire in the Phillips Villas should serve as a wakeup call, a Community Development District 4 supervisor has warned.
The fire last month burned a golf cart down to its frame.
CDD 4 Supervisor Don Deakin said Marion County Fire Rescue was slow to respond to the fire, because emergency personnel had a hard time finding the address of the home, which is among the newest in CDD 4.
The 911 call was placed from the cell phone of the woman who owned the golf cart. The combination of the newer address and the cell phone created a disconnect with the dispatcher.
“In desperation she said, ‘Just look up in the sky and look for the smoke,’” Deakin told his fellow board members.
The smoke was thick and black as the fire burned down to the golf cart’s tires.
The woman who owned that golf cart attended Deakin’s monthly question-and-answer session Thursday evening at Mulberry Grove Recreation Center.
The woman shared that she had liability insurance on the $13,000 golf cart, but did not have comprehensive coverage.
“We need to ensure this never happens again. If they are having this much trouble finding a golf cart, they’ll have a tougher time finding a human,” Deakin said.
