Fire Service: ‘Wildfire season is here.’

POLK COUNTY, FL (Jan. 31, 2008 ) — Willdfire season may have officially started with an out-of-control burn north of Interstate 4 that kept fire crews busy and aggravated raod conditions in early-morning fog the next morning, leading to a 70-car pileup.
However, on Wednesday, Jan. 30, after a wildfire burned on property held by Mosaic Fertilizer Company off Anderson Road, west of Mulberry, fire service officials commented that “wildfire season is here.”
On the night of Jan. 30, Red Cross volunteers fed approximately 30-40 people who had fought the blaze all afternoon, just as volunteers are ready to do anytime to support emergency personnel dealing with a major disaster.
Now is the best time for people to revisit their wildfire evacuation plans, before the peak of the dry season. Make sure you have an emergency supplies kit, an evacuation and/or shelter plan, and that you keep informaed about fire dangers – as well as other natural disasters – in your area.

Red Cross assists emergency crews at fatal 70-car pile-up on Interstate 4

AUBURNDALE, FL (Jan. 9-11, 2008 ) — Early in the morning on Wednesday, Jan. 9, motorists on Interstate 4 in Polk County encountered thick fog that cut visibility down to zero, and resulted in a major pile-up resulting in deaths, injuries, and vehicle fires.

The American Red Cross was immediately called out to provide beverages and food to emergency crews fighting vehicle fires and rescuing motorists, as well as food for crews fighting a nearby wildfire that had been burning since Tuesday night, Jan. 8.

Red Cross responds to 14 fires in two weeks over holiday season

POLK COUNTY, FL (Jan. 4, 2008 ) — Over the Christmas holiday weekend, the American Red Cross responded to six home fires affecting eight families. Sadly, a fire just before midnight on Thursday, Dec. 27, took the life of one family member, lead to another being hospitalized, and three more displaced who then arranged to stay with family.
Red Cross provided immediate emergency assistance, but the death left family members distraught. They were the eighth local family harmed by a home fire in just under a week.
Before that week was over, another family in Lake Wales was displaced by fire. The local Red Cross then responded to two more home fires on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, and another three fires on Jan. 3 and 4.
All told, within two weeks, the chapter saw 14 local families affected by home fires — an average of one a day.
Home fires remain the most common disaster for Red Cross responders. Though the Polk County Chapter has seen a spike over the Christmas holidays and winter months usually have the most home fires, the Polk County Chapter stayed busy over the summer and fall assisting more than 100 local families affected by such disasters, sometimes several for one fire.
Red Cross volunteers stand ready to help at any time, but urge everyone to take fire safety precautions to prevent home fires, and to practice escape plans to ensure they and their loved ones get out of a fire safely.