JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department is urging homeowners to take precautionary actions to protect their homes from catching on fire during the dry season.
“We’re seeing a lot of accidental and we’re seeing some that are preventable in terms of these fires,” JFRD District Chief of Training Aaron Bebernitz said.
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From January 1 through January 31, JFRD said its firefighters responded to 2,089 fire related calls.
Of those, 38 were brush fires. 29 were wood fires, and four were grass fires.
The number of fires is causing JFRD to repurpose their resources within their department.
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“This heightened response, all of our brush trucks are fully staffed right now,” Bebernitz said.
Bebernitz said homeowners have ways to protect their homes from catching on fire in these dry conditions.
“The pine needles, the pine cones, leaves, branches accumulate on top of roofs. We want to remind everybody to clean all of that off,” Bebernitz said.
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Bebernitz also stressed the importance of keeping shrubbery maintained
“Clean out all the weeds, clean out anything that could heighten or exponentially cause a fire to be worse around your area,” Bebernitz said.
In the event that your home does catch on fire, Bebernitz said do not be a hero and call 911 immediately.
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