Unmarked Detective’s Vehicle from Tarpon Springs Police Department Catches Fire in Tampa, Ammo Burns

Tampa Police and Tampa Fire Rescue responded to the scene of a vehicle fire that set off ammunition stored inside the vehicle. As the vehicle burned, the ammunition went off, resulting harmless noises similar to the sound of fireworks.

There were no injuries and the only property damage was to the vehicle.

The driver of the vehicle told Tampa Police that at about 5:46 p.m. he was driving westbound on Kennedy Boulevard when his air conditioning appeared to go out. The driver then heard the sound of a pop and saw smoke coming from under the hood. He was able to safely pull into a strip mall at 4331 W Kennedy Boulevard that had very few vehicles in it. The driver moved safely away from the vehicle. After a few minutes the ammunition started to go off.

The driver of the vehicle is a detective from the Tarpon Springs Police Department driving an unmarked police vehicle. He was not injured according to Steve Hegarty, Public Information Officer from the Tampa Police Department.

The vehicle fire resulted in the temporary closing of westbound Kennedy Boulevard.