FIRE!

It's beautiful when creating a warm and comforting ambiance for your pleasure and enjoyment; terrifying and deadly when out of control and threatening your home and life.



Dont' let this...

become this.

Mike Jensen, wearing his firefighter, EMT hat, taught us about keeping our homes safe from fires.  With its frequent summer lightening storms, our area is prone to forest fires.  Add to that the human factor of cigarettes, unattended campfires and illegal trash burning, and it becomes evident that we unless we live in a completely urbanized area we should all consider brush fire as a potential threat to our homes.  He noted that a fire wise landscape is lean, clean and green. 

Here are some ways to reduce fire risk at your home.  Create a defensible space.  1) Trim lower branches up to 10 ft. on tall trees and keep shrubbery away from highly flammable pines.  2) Landscape the area to make it difficult for fire to spread to your home.  3) Keep combustible items like wood piles, brush piles, propane tanks and fuel cans at least 30 ft. from your home.  4) Use mowed grass, gravel walkways and mulched plantings near your home.  Do not use thick combustible mulch near your home.  5) Keep large, leafy, hardwood trees in your yard to shade your home.  6) Remove flammable plants like saw palmetto, wax myrtle, red cedar among others.  Replace them with dogwood, viburnum, beautyberry and others that are less flammable.  Here are some UF/IFAS resources to find plants and more information;  Firewise Landscaping 

Mike also mentioned that homeowners should be aware of the size of fire trucks.  They are about 10-12 ft. high and wide.  If you have a forested, long, narrow driveway to your home, it's time to consider whether you want fire/rescue personnel to help you in the event of a fire.  If they can't get to you, they can't help.

Another fire danger that Mike reminded us about is smoke and fog on the highway.  Many of you will remember the deadly accident that occurred in January on I-75 near Gainsville.  It was caused by a combination of fog and smoke from a brush fire that created near invisibility on the highway.  He told us that if we drive into smoke on the highway to: 1) Slow down  2) Use low-beam headlights 3) If dense pull off the road far enough so you can exit the vehicle safely 4) Use emergency flashers  5)  Exit the vehicle on the side away from traffic  6) Call 911.  The accident in January claimed 10 lives.  Drive safely, Master Gardeners.