As part of the ongoing efforts by Osceola County Fire Rescue to keep residents and visitors informed of the dangers of wildfires, Fire Chief Richard Collins Monday unveiled a new wildfire awareness campaign to the Board of County Commissioners.“We’re taking an aggressive stance during this wildfire season to keep our citizens and visitors informed of the dangers of fires, especially those occurring within the urban interface,” Collins said. “We’re targeting areas in the county that are prone to wildfires and getting the message out to our neighbors on how to protect their properties.”

Elements of the campaign include:

• Daily website weather updates and fire conditions for battalion chiefs.

• A new Community Safety Center website — MySafety.osceola.org — for residents to view current wildfire conditions, weather, burn ban information and other community news alerts such as hazardous materials spills, rabid animal on the loose and more.

• Wildfire awareness door hangers for homes and businesses in the following targeted areas: Bay Lake Estates/Ranch, east of St. Cloud; Suburban Estates, east of St. Cloud; New Eden on the Lake, east of St. Cloud; Austin Tindall area, Boggy Creek Road; Happy Trails, west of Kissimmee; Sullivan Road, west of Kissimmee; Poinciana, Chestnut Street and the Walt Disney World Wilderness

Preserve; and Poinciana, Marigold Avenue area.

Collins said community burn ban restriction signs will be placed at the entrance of the targeted areas, and at neighborhood fire stations and other public buildings. In addition, electronic burn ban graphics will be displayed in the Board of County Commission chambers prior to each weekly meeting that can be viewed by residents attending the meeting, watching the live video at home on the Internet or re-broadcasts of the meeting on television.

Fire Rescue also will be distributing its firewise brochure, “Blueprint for Safety,” at community events. Firewise public service announcements also will be aired on Access Osceola, Access St. Cloud and local media outlets.

“We’ve all seen the recent news reports of the devastating wildfires in Brevard and Volusia counties. Through the efforts of our Fire Rescue personnel to keep the public informed of the dangers of wildfires, we are doing all we can to prevent the same thing from happening in Osceola County,” Collins said.

For more information on the Wildfire Awareness Campaign, contact Osceola County Fire Rescue at 407-742-9017.

Story provided by Niki Whisler, Osceola County Public Safety public information officer.