Firefighters vigilant in Seminole County as burn bans continue

Most of Central Florida in severe drought

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – News 6 got an up-close look as Seminole County firefighters showed off their woods truck and its many features.

This comes as burn bans continued Sunday in many parts of Central Florida.

“We don’t want anyone burning if It’s not essential,” said Lt. Dave Williams from the Seminole County Fire Department.

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Williams shared video of Seminole County firefighters using their woods truck to assist Volusia County in putting out a brush fire in the Lake Harney woods area Saturday. Thankfully, no property damage or injuries were reported.

“Right now, without any expected precipitation we can be looking at weeks or even months,” Williams said, referencing how long burn bans can last.

Seminole County Fire officials said they’ve upstaffed personnel in their woods trucks throughout the weekend. These trucks have special equipment to help crews create fire link breaks to stop fires from progressing.

The tanker trucks are like a portable water supply and hold about 3,000 gallons of water. Seminole County Fire has five of them.

”In the event there’s a tanker fire or a brush fire, we’ll send multiple tanker trucks and they’ll actually put into a portable pond where we have a constant water supply for units,” Williams said.

According to News 6 Meteorologist Jonathan Kegges, most of Central Florida is in a severe drought with now being one of the driest periods of the year, and it’s much dryer than normal.

He said the wet season typically starts in May.


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About the Author:

Jerry Askin is an Atlanta native who came to News 6 in March 2018 with an extensive background in breaking news.

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