On Wednesday, March 23rd Edgewater Fire Rescue hosted a Firewise workshop sponsored by the Florida Division of Forestry and Pandion Systems, Inc. There were over thirty local homeowners and residents in attendance.

On average, Florida experiences the second highest number of wildfires in the nation. During dry years, Florida experiences severe wildfires- wildfires that destroy homes, disrupt people's lives and impact our economy. Homeowners must become partners in fire protection.

This workshop included interactive presentations, videos and a presentation from a Florida Division of Forestry representative. Attendees learned how to protect their homes and community from wildfire.

"This workshop could not have come at a better time" according to Fire Chief Stephen Cousins. In the hours before the workshop began, Edgewater Fire Rescue crews responded to three brush fires in a two hour period, two of which had a high potential to threaten nearby homes. One closed down Hibiscus Drive for nearly thirty minutes.

Edgewater Fire Rescue suggests the following actions to take before a wildfire strikes:

• Design and landscape your home with wildfire safety in mind.
• Create a safety zone around your home of at least 30 feet.
• Remove all debris such as leaves and rubbish from under and around the structure.
• Remove all dead branches from trees.
• Prune any branches or shrubs within 15 feet of the roof.
• Make sure that you have got a long enough garden hose that reaches your home and any other structures on your property.

Edgewater Fire-Rescue and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer the following drowning prevention and pool safety tips:

• Designate a responsible adult to watch young children while in the bath and all children swimming or playing in or around water. Adults should not be involved in any other distracting activity (such as reading, playing cards, talking on the phone, or mowing the lawn) while supervising children.
• Always swim with a buddy. Swim in areas guarded by a lifeguard whenever possible.
• Avoid drinking alcohol before or during any water activities. Do not drink alcohol while supervising children.
• Learn to swim. Be aware that the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend swimming classes as the primary means of drowning prevention for children younger than 4. Constant, careful supervision and barriers such as pool fencing are necessary even when children have completed swimming lessons.
• Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). CPR performed by bystanders has been shown to improve outcomes in drowning victims. Contact Edgewater Fire-Rescue at 424-2445 to sign up for a CPR class.
• Do not use air-filled or foam toys, such as "water wings", "noodles", or inner-tubes, in place of life jackets (personal flotation devices). These toys are not designed to keep swimmers safe.
• Install a four-sided, isolation pool fence that completely separates the house and play area of the yard from the pool area. The fence should be at least 4 feet high. Use self-closing and self-latching gates that open outward with latches that are out of reach of children. Also, consider additional barriers such as automatic door locks or alarms to prevent access or notify you if someone enters the pool area. Contact the City of Edgewater Building Department at 424-2400 x1514 for more information about pool protection.
• Remove floats, balls and other toys from the pool and surrounding area immediately after use. The presence of these toys may encourage children to enter the pool area or lean over the pool and potentially fall in.

Beginning Tuesday, September 1st, Edgewater Fire-Rescue will be offering flu shots at both fire stations (Station 55 – 1605 South Ridgewood Ave. and Station 57 – 2628 Hibiscus Drive). Department paramedics will be administering the shots Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM. Department personnel will remain subject to emergency calls during these times so there may a delay when there is not a paramedic available to administer the flu shots.

The cost per shot is $25, payable via cash or check. Once again this year, Edgewater Fire-Rescue is also able to accept Medicare Part B as payment. Each patient must provide their Medicare card and picture ID in order to process the Medicare payment.

The influenza vaccine currently being offered by the department is the common or “seasonal” flu vaccine which the National Center for Disease Control recommends once a year. There are no plans at this time for the department to administer the H1N1 or “swine flu” vaccine as it is still under development. Fire Chief Steve Cousins advises that “I want to reassure our residents that should the vaccine for the H1N1/swine flu become available every effort will be made to provide it as may be dictated by local, state or federal health officials.”

On Saturday, March 28th a team of Edgewater firefighters participated in the 2nd annual Central Florida Fire Muster in Eustis.  The team consisted of the crew of “B” shift from Fire Station 57 (Lt. Bruce Coates, Driver/Paramedic Bryan Everidge, Driver/Paramedic Brandon Hudson, FF/EMT John Halcomb and Volunteer FF/EMT Chris Morrow).  There were a total of six events including a bucket brigade and a “midnight alarm” that simulated the conditions of waking from a sleep, putting on fire gear and responding to an emergency alarm.  Edgewater Fire-Rescue’s team placed first in the balloon and hose cart races and second in the barrel roll and bucket brigade competitions.  The team was also rewarded the highly coveted “Team Spirit” award.  They hope to compete again next year since having so much fun and success in their first effort.

Riverside Bank chose one of Edgewater Fire-Rescue’s personnel, Driver/Paramedic Greg Swets as their “Hometown Hero” for the month of April.  On April 23rd Driver/Paramedic Swets was presented with a certificate of appreciation by the bank staff at the Edgewater branch.  His fellow firefighters, Edgewater’s City Manager and Human Resources Director as well as his wife were on hand to congratulate him as he was recognized.   He was nominated by a bank employee who saw his efforts in caring for an ill woman at Publix a few weeks prior. She was impressed by his professionalism and caring nature and knew he would fit the criteria for the bank’s Hometown Hero award.