City could declare state of emergency

City could declare state of emergency

Burn ban likely if rain holds off

By MELISSA BURNSED

MACCLENNY, FL - City Fire Chief Buddy Dugger was all business at the council meeting Tuesday evening. Chief Dugger was listed as a emergency late add-on to city council agenda. He briefed municipal leaders about the ongoing fire fighting efforts within the state and how his department had deployed to assist in the operations. He also informed the council of plans to declare a citywide state of emergency if there is no rain in the next few days.

"We will be pulling the trigger early to insure we can handle any potential problems as the drought conditions continue to heighten the danger of brush fires. By enacting the state of emergency, we will be able to impose a total no burn ban which will help to eliminate some of the dangers," said Dugger.

"We have sent an engine and a brush truck already, as part of task forces to help Brevard County where the situation is the worst. They are getting hammered hard down there and our guys have been on the front lines since they arrived," he said.

The request for assistance came through the mutual aid agreement with the Florida Fire Chief’s Association, which sent multiple crews to assist and support the city and county during last year’s Bug-a-Boo fires.

There are 52 active fires spread across 14 counties, according to Chief Dugger.

The suppression and control efforts are being hampered because available resources are limited due to fears of local staffing and equipment shortages if fires develop while crews are deployed elsewhere. The situation is further hampered because the passage of State Amendment One. The mandated tightening of revenue has led to budget cuts that have reduced the numbers of available crews over the entire state.

"Those cutbacks have led to station shutdowns and staff being reduced…We are in as bad a shape today as we were in 1998, when the state was hit hard by brushfires," warned Chief Dugger.

Dugger has met this week, with county fire and emergency management officials, along with representatives of the state and federal forestry services to coordinate local advanced planning efforts. He informed the councilmen that the plans to implement a state of emergency will encompass all of Baker County, if county commissioners give approval to Chief Richard Dolan at their meeting next Monday.

"This is being done to exercise an abundance of caution. Hopefully we will not need to go beyond the first phase of our emergency plan. I don’t want to be caught short. The residents and homes of this area are our number one priority, but we have to help our neighbors in need, just as they rallied to our support when we needed it last year," said Dugger after the meeting.