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Brush fire tips: How to protect your home and family

Posted at 12:47 AM, Feb 21, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-21 00:47:22-05

NAPLES, Fla. -- The peak of brush fire season is less than two weeks away.

Fox 4 is in your corner to make sure you and your family are prepared for possible fire danger.

“I have two trailers that have been burnt down, and a barn that’s been burnt down,” said Mark Irgang, who lost everything in a brush fire last May.

He now lives in a new trailer but said some things he could not replace.

“The photo albums were a tremendous loss of my family and my kids,” Irgang said.

Irgang lives in Picayune Strand State Forest in Naples. He is still trying to rebuild his life and is saving up money for a new barn.

Brush fires have destroyed several homes in Southwest Florida so we went to the North Collier Fire Rescue for answers.

We rode along with Battalion Chief, Robert Smith to find out ways you can protect your home.

He showed us the kind of dangers surrounding homes.

He said dry debris should be 30 feet away from your house.

He said if you live in a rural area, contact your local fire department and work together on ways to protect your home.

The fire department has a list of ways to protect your residence and family this brush season.