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Recently a resident of our fire district lost their home to a brushfire. While we will do our absolute best to preserve your property during the event of a brushfire, there are steps you can take before fire strikes that will allow us to better defend your home. Let’s take a quick look together at how to create defensible space around your home. We recommend keeping your property lean, clean, and green. What does that mean?

Maintaining a lean, clean, and green landscape within 30 feet of a structure can make a significant difference in whether it survives a brushfire. The important thing is that action must be taken before fire threatens.

Lean — small amounts of flammable vegetation
Clean — no accumulations of dead vegetation
Green — plants are healthy and green; lawn is well irrigated

Reducing fuel within the defensible space means creating a landscape that breaks up the continuity of brush and other vegetation that could bring fire in contact with any flammable portion of the structure.

This may involve:
Eliminating any flammable vegetation in contact with the structure
Thinning out trees and shrubs so there is 10 to 15 feet between the tree crowns
Pruning tree limbs to a height of 6 to 10 feet
Replacing highly flammable landscape material with plant materials having a higher water content
Replacing flammable mulch adjacent to the structure with gravel or rock
Eliminating “ladder fuels” near the structure that might carry a surface fire to the roof or eaves

Fire is a natural part of our Florida ecosystems. It is not a matter of if we are going to have brushfires, but when will we have brushfires and at what intensity. Homeowners must assume a major role in brushfire protection by taking action to reduce the ignitability of their homes before the threat of a fire.

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We are proud to announce Firefighter Mark Martine was recently awarded the District Medal of Courage and Award of Merit for involvement in an act of Bravery.

On May 19th, 2017 while off duty Firefighter Martine was traveling south through Georgia. While driving he observed smoke ahead rising above the trees. As he crested the hill he noticed a crashed RV resting on its passenger side and on fire. Martine along with about a half a dozen other motorists stopped to help assist with the crash.

Though he had no personal protective equipment Firefighter Martine knew there were people inside the crashed RV, and acted as any true hero would, without concern for his own safety. Firefighter Martine kicked in the top of the RV bunk area above the cab to free a male occupant from the burning RV. He then assisted an officer on-scene to pull the female occupant, who was on fire at the time, free from the wreckage. During this incident Firefighter Martine suffered minor burns and lacerations. The male passenger was treated for minor injuries and released. Unfortunately, the female passenger succumb to her injuries days later.

Firefighter Martine was also awarded the Commissioner’s Citation for Distinguished Service by the Georgia Department of Public Safety for his life saving actions that day. We are incredibly proud to serve alongside Firefighter Martine and are continually impressed by his dedication to public safety both on and off duty. Congratulations Firefighter Martine!