Seminole Fire Officials Ask Residents to Unshutter Their Homes
The City of Seminole Fire Rescue Department urges you to remove the hurricane shutters and protective coverings over your doors and window if you have not already done so.
This is the advice from fire officials who say leaving your home shuttered could pose a potentially deadly fire hazard.
“All residential rooms are required to have two points of egress,” said Seminole Fire Chief, Heather Burford. “If there is a fire in your home, windows are an important way out. Doors and windows covered or protected from Hurricane Irma should now be uncovered.”
The City’s firefighters follow a “vent, enter, search” protocol, which means that they will enter room-by-room and search to ensure everyone is out of the burning structure. Shuttered and boarded-up windows can hinder this process, says Chief Burford.
“A fire inside a home with shuttered windows may not be visible until it is too late,” said Chief Burford.
“It can delay firefighters trying to enter a home that is on fire.”