Glut of Central Florida brush fires push emergency personnel to edge of fatigue, officials say

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — As Central Florida experiences one of the driest two months on record, brush fires have been popping up in numerous counties and have been pushing emergency personnel to their limits, officials said.

The Florida Forestry Service has had to work it’s crews on seven-day shifts with only one day of rest, as opposed to the usual five-day on, two-day off schedule.

To help shoulder the burden, 20 firefighters recently traveled to Central Florida to assist in battling the brush fires.

“It’s like anything, you can describe it, you can say how difficult it is, how tired you are or how frightening it is, or how challenging it is, but until you actually do it, you don’t know,” FFS spokesman Ralph Risch said.

Cox Media Group