Posted: 5:05 PM Jun 28, 2012
Reporter: Brian Hutton, Jr.

Weather Conditions Contribute to Fire Hazard

The Lauderdale County Fire Service is asking residents to not do any outdoor burning.

The dry conditions have raised the fire danger in Lauderdale and surrounding counties. While we are not at a critical level like locations in Colorado, firefighters have responded to several wildfire calls this week.

With the Fourth of July right around the corner, many people have already begun shooting off fireworks. The hot and dry weather we've had makes it easier for a firework to become a fire.

Those fires not only endanger lives and property, but the firefighters who respond to those fires as well.

"Keep in mind that if a fire happens, and our firefighters have to come to it, they're having to experience that triple digit heat, which increases the risk to them," said fire coordinator Allan Dover.

Dover says two heat related injuries have already happened to firefighters on the job. You can help by taking some extra precautions to make sure you don't accidentally start a fire.

"We're asking the public be very diligent in making sure they don't throw a cigarette out of a window; that if they're towing trailers, and different things of this nature, that their chains are not dragging," Dover said. "We've even seen here in the last week where we actually had a small grass fire, and it was actually caused by a lawnmower striking a rock."

In the last two weeks, Dover estimates firefighters have responded to about 15 wildfire calls. What you may not think about is that if it's dry outside, it's also dry inside.

"Something to keep in mind, that if the grass, the trees, and the shrubbery around a home are dry, the inside of the home is also dry," said Dover. "So it's very easy to ignite there, so they should be very diligent to what they normally do, making sure you don't leave when your dryer is running, your washing machine. There shouldn't be any appliances running. Don't leave your ceiling fan running all day long. That tends to heat up the metal. We see a number of structure fires do to ceiling fans or dryers."

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