Seminole County firefighters increase staff, special equipment during weekend burn ban

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A burn ban is in effect in Seminole County as drought conditions continue across Central Florida.

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This leads to more staff and specialized equipment at fire stations throughout the weekend in an all-hands-on-deck effort.

In Geneva, the Seminole County Fire Department responded to several brush fires on Saturday.

With the burn ban in full force, fire crews in Seminole County are getting a lot of calls.

Fire crews said they had seen a lot of small brush fires this weekend, but the threat behind those is significant.

Read: Burn ban remains in effect in Seminole County

The county warns people to be extra careful until we see rain in the forecast.

“We are starting to see really windy type-conditions,” said firefighter Kevin Beavers, a member of Wildland One. “And you start adding some of those factors up with the drought, and that could potentially add for some catastrophic wildfires to happen.”

Officials caution the community not to throw out cigarette butts and urge them not to burn anything.

“I would try to encourage folks, especially if they have any woods around them, to try and clean up their lawns,” Beavers said.

Read: ‘Do what’s right’: Orlando firefighter recalls saving Seminole County deputy from fiery crash

Channel 9 followed Station 42 as it responded to a small brush fire in the Lake Harney woods area.

The department has teams deployed on Woods Trucks throughout the weekend. With this, firefighters can bring their own water supply to areas without hydrants.

The trucks are also much smaller, which helps crews squeeze into smaller spaces.

“With that truck, the type 5 engine, it gives us the ability to get into tighter places, get further or closer into where the wildfires are,” Beavers said. “Where this truck is a little more limited for that and more for structure protection.”

Sunday: Hot again in many areas, but slightly cooler at the beaches

Additional personnel will stay packed into stations across Seminole County until conditions improve and rain returns to the Sunshine State.

“We will probably keep them at that level for now and probably increase them as we start to see more incidents start to pop up,” Beavers said. “If local counties around the area start having more and more incidents, it just generally leads to the possibility of us having problems as well.”

Because of the current conditions, no fire is too small for the department to respond to.

Firefighters said that if you see anything burning, call 911 immediately.

Video: Seminole County burn ban continues throughout the weekend (WFTV)

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