By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

Osceola County firefighters spent three days this week helping to contain the Iron Horse brush fire that has scorched more than 17,000 acres in Brevard and Volusia counties since it began Feb. 25; it is now 25 percent contained.

Firefighting teams from Osceola County and the cities of Kissimmee and St. Cloud Tuesday joined forces with at least 15 other fire departments around the state to battle the fire. They came home Thursday night.

St. Cloud Fire Rescue was part of the Osceola County strike team dispatched to keep untouched brush

wet to prevent it from catching on fire, Chief Bill Johnston said.

The team also was deployed to defend structures should the fire threaten them and wet down smoldering hot spots.

“Obviously, we’re geared toward structural firefighting rather than brush firefighting,” Johnston said, adding that he had confidence in his team’s abilities.

“Everyone’s back safe and sound,” Johnston said.

All three teams returned Thursday night because although the fire is only 25 percent contained, the weather forecast and wind direction gave those in charge of the fire reason to let some teams go home, Johnston said.

The Iron Horse fire is in the Lake Harney Woods subdivision area in north Brevard and south Volusia counties. As of Thursday afternoon, the fire had destroyed one mobile home, several outbuildings and a few hunting camp structures, according to a Florida Department of Agriculture press release. A volunteer firefighter in Brevard County suffered second-degree burns while fighting the fire on Tuesday.

Currently, there are no wildfires in Osceola County.

According to the Florida Division of Forestry, from Jan. 1 to March 1 of this year, 1,089 wildfires have broken out around the state compared to just 19 in other parts of the country. Nearly 38,000 acres have burned in these Florida fires, whereas 2,100 acres have burned in other states.

Osceola firefighting teams were deployed as part of the State Emergency Response System, which activates when a city or county declares a state of emergency; Brevard County, where approximately two-thirds of the fire is located, did so earlier this week.

“The Kissimmee Fire Department does not hesitate to answer calls of this nature as we realize the importance of providing assistance to other communities in their time of need,” Kissimmee Deputy Fire Chief Jeremy Donovan said.

Osceola County is no stranger to the system, having activated it for hurricanes in the past, Johnston said.

“No one agency can handle incidents that are this large and complex,” Osceola County Fire Rescue Chief Richard Collins said. “In times of disaster, this system ensures all of our abilities to respond effectively to citizens, and we are glad to help.”

Niki Whisler, spokeswoman for Osceola County Fire Rescue, said the firefighters are off work for the next 48 hours to “rest and recoup.”

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam advised in a press conference Wednesday that residents in surrounding areas, as well as residents across Florida, to be cautious.

“Because of long-term weather patterns, the freezes this winter, dry conditions and (weather phenomenon) La Niña, the state is a tinderbox,” Putnam said. “This is the beginning of the fire season and we’re already seeing record activity. I encourage people to be cautious and prepare their homes to prevent fire damage.”

Johnston agreed with Putnam, calling dry brush a “fuel load” that burns “hot and quick.” He supports prescribed burns to help eliminate dry brush and plant matter that becomes easy kindling in a brush fire.

Prescribed burns not only burn off unwanted dry vegetation, Johnston said, but the ash becomes fertilizer for new plants.

Currently, Osceola County is under a burn ban as of Jan. 20 due to dry conditions and a lack of rainfall.

South Florida Water Management District meteorologists reported Wednesday that the below-average rainfall last month capped the driest October-to-February period in 80 years.

Johnston still remembers handling the “horrendous” brush fire season of 1998.

“Florida was basically on fire. I don’t know if we’ll ever, at least I hope not, see that again,” he said.