BRANTLEY COUNTY, Ga. — An anonymous firefighter, with over a decade of experience, spoke exclusively to Action News Jax. The veteran responder leveled allegations of mismanagement, claiming that vital resources were being sidelined while the fire spread.
“Fire trucks full of water and I mean anywhere from three to thirty just sitting and being told not to do anything,” the firefighter stated. The source expressed frustration over what they described as a lack of preventative measures and a failure to utilize available personnel on the front lines.
Karen Gleason, a spokesperson for the Officials with the Southern Area Incident Management Team, said, “Most structural firefighters are not comfortable fighting fire in the woods.”
While local departments focus on saving structures, wildland firefighting requires a different tactical playbook. Forestry crews undergo nearly 800 hours of specialized training that focuses on wildland firefighting.
We reached out to the Florida Forest Service to provide more insight of what forestry crews do. Florida Forestry isn’t in the Brantly County fires, but they provided information. Rob Chase of the, who provides insight into the training required for these events, noted that wildfires are uniquely unpredictable compared to a house fire.
“With a wildfire, we’re dealing with weather that could potentially shift the direction of the flame from north to south within a second,” Chase said.
According to Chase, the goal in the woods isn’t always to spray water directly on the flames, but to build massive perimeters. “We’ll be having boots on the ground. We’ll have our tractors plowing lines around this fire to stop that progression. We’ll have our engine crews on the ground, spraying out any hot spots that they find,” he said.
Despite the criticism from some local responders, officials praised the efforts of surrounding communities in protecting residential structures. Gleason emphasized that while local crews did an “awesome job” saving homes, the current environmental factors are working against them.
“When you get these unprecedented dry conditions like we have in Southeast Georgia now, you can’t work miracles,” Gleason said. She says crews are putting out around 50 smaller fires a day. “It’s very hard to contain every fire.”
As the Highway 82 fire continues to burn, forestry officials are urging residents to assist in the effort by creating “buffer zones” around their properties. Clearing dead foliage and dry vegetation can provide the crucial margin of safety needed for crews to do their jobs. A link is provided for those who want to prepare their home. Be Wildfire Ready / Fire Prevention / Wildland Fire / Forest & Wildfire / Home - Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
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