Large brush fire causes smoke near Mosaic property in Riverview: Fire officials

Crews battle fire on Mosaic property

Nearly 40 crews responded to a large brush fire on Mosaic's property off of US 41 in Riverview Monday evening.

RIVERVIEW, Fla. - Nearly 40 crews responded to a large brush fire on Mosaic's property off of US 41 in Riverview Monday evening. 

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue said they responded to the scene at around 5:45 p.m. after receiving 911 calls about the fire. Once firefighters arrived, crews immediately started working to extinguish the heavy fire as windy conditions worked against them. 

"The challenge right now is that there’s a lot of heat. And a lot of heat requires a lot of water," said Rob Herrin, the public safety information chief with HCFR. 

A spokesperson with HCFR said the fire hasn't grown in the nearly five hours that it was actively burning, and no structures are threatened in the area. 

Aerials: Large brush fire at Mosaic property

Firefighters responded to a large brush fire on Mosaic's property off of US 41 in Riverview Monday evening.

Hillsborough firefighters said crews were able to get the fire under control late Monday evening, and crews are now working to put out hot spots. Mosaic's response team also responded and so did the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office's helicopter, which helped dump water on the fire. 

A spokesperson with The Mosaic Company said the brush fire was on their property in Riverview, but it was not at the plant in that area. Grass near a closed gypsum stack caught on fire and was burning pipes stacked up, which made the smoke seen in the area worse.

"Earlier today, a brush fire occurred at our Riverview site during routine maintenance. Thanks to the swift action of our employees and local emergency responders, the fire was quickly contained with no offsite impacts. Our employees are all safe, and we will continue to work with our local authorities on next steps," a spokesperson for Mosaic said in a statement given to FOX 13. "We thank everyone for their prompt response - further updates will be provided as necessary. Thank you for your understanding and we apologize for any inconvenience."

The Florida Forest Service also responded to help focus on the brush fire while HCFR works to extinguish the pipe fire. 

HCFR said firefighters and personnel with Mosaic were not injured while responding to the fire. The department's Hazmat team was on scene, but there were no concerns about chemical issues. 

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