Local crews offer fire safety advice ahead of summer season
AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - It’s the season where firefighters say they see the highest surge in fires.
From cookouts to fireworks — crews are warning you to take caution and practice fire safety.
This past weekend marks the unofficial start of summer — but for firefighters, it’s not a season of rest — it’s a season of risk.
It starts with a spark — a grill, a fire pit, a good time — but sometimes those quiet moments can end in flames.
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“I would say our summertime is the busiest season that we have just due to the heat and the uptick and fires,” Cody Black, a Sergeant with the Graniteville, Vaucluse, Warrenville Fire department and Aiken County Fire Association Public Information Office, says.
Firefighters like Cody Black know how quickly summer peace can turn into panic.
“The biggest thing we do is just try to go out to the public and everybody know about the fire safety to try to maybe get our just numbers down a little bit more.”
The biggest danger isn’t always what you see, it’s what you walk away from.
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“A lot of fires get left unattended until they’re fully extinguished, or they think it’s mostly out,” Black explains. “And they go inside for the night, and then they wake up and their whole yards are on fire.”
But it’s not just flames — the heat alone is dangerous.
“Medical is one of our most increased, just due to heat exhaustion with it being hot outside. Make sure if you’re out in the heat that you’re staying hydrated, especially if you’re bringing in alcohol in the mix of it you want to keep drinking water with that because alcohol will make you dehydrated even faster.”
Black says if you’re burning, do it by the book — or don’t do it at all.
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“You want to make sure if you’re using a charcoal grill that you dispose of all the coals, make sure they’re cold when you’re done with them,” Black says. “You don’t want to dispose of them in a trash bag or anything like that can reignite. Put them in a metal tin with a secured top. During the summer, you want to use a lot more caution with everything, so if you’re burning outside your general debris from your yard, make sure you stay out there with them to their fully extinguished.”
Because the best fires this summer — will be the ones you don’t hear about.
Black also says if you are burning, always make sure you have a valid burn permit.
And if you need help or have any questions -- always reach out to your local fire department.
Richmond and Columbia Counties are currently under a state-wide summer open burning ban until the end of September.
That means all yard and land-clearing debris burning is banned.
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