A fire tore through the BrightLight solar mailbox factory at the corner of Sulstone Drive and Sunnybrook Road in Charlotte County on Monday night, leaving the owner to call it a catastrophic loss. Firefighters were dispatched at 7:29 p.m., and roughly 15 units responded to battle the blaze, which closed Sunnybrook Road for a stretch of the night. No injuries were reported.
According to Gulf Coast News and Weather, Charlotte County Public Safety crews battled the fire throughout Monday night at the factory, which produces illuminated solar mailboxes. When reporters arrived afterward, they found burnt mailboxes scattered across the ground and the smell of smoke still hanging in the air. Charlotte County Public Safety said the cause of the fire remained unknown.
Owner Points to E-Bike Battery, But Cause Remains Unconfirmed
The BrightLight owner told the outlet he believes an e-bike battery may have sparked the fire, though that explanation has not been confirmed as the official cause. “A catastrophic loss,” he said of the damage, describing the toll the blaze took on the business he built. He also said he was “deeply grateful that so many of you have reached out with kindness and support” in the fire's aftermath, the same report noted.
Separately, WINK News reported that the State Fire Marshal's Office has taken over the investigation, and that the fire's origin and cause had not yet been determined. The outlet's report leaves open the question of what ultimately started the blaze, pending the Fire Marshal's findings.
Flames and Smoke Reported From Rear of Building
The factory building, used for solar mailbox manufacturing, was unoccupied at the time of the fire, per WWSB MySuncoast. Callers reported flames and smoke coming from the rear of the structure, and firefighters found heavy smoke and visible flames when they arrived before working to extinguish the blaze. The station's report also confirmed that Sunnybrook Road was temporarily closed while crews worked the scene.
A lane of Sunnybrook Road has since reopened after the closure at the time of the blaze, the same outlet's earlier report noted. The business owner took over BrightLight in 2017 and began manufacturing the company's mailboxes himself, building on a vision to create illuminated home addresses so neighbors, visitors, and emergency responders could find every home, day or night, according to the Gulf Coast News and Weather report. Gulf Coast News and Weather said it will report further once the cause of the fire is determined.
