MEDFORD, Ore. – May 1 marks the start of fire season in Southwest Oregon.
It comes a month earlier than previous seasons. Due to the previous dry months, firefighters say it could be a busy season.
However, like everything else, coronavirus is making firefighters do things a bit differently.
“Having a whole bunch of fires in april, which is why we’re moving up the start of fire season from its usual start date in June to the first of May,” says Brian Ballou from ODF.
Not only are firefighters getting ready earlier, but a global pandemic presents something entirely new.
“It’s gonna be a challenge, there’s no doubt about that,” said Ballou, “It’s gonna be on everyone to make sure that everyone pays attention to the distancing and the masking up rules.”
That means there’s a whole new element to safety training for firefighters this year.
“Trying to impress that upon the firefighters, this is really important it’s just as important as putting the fire out,” said Ballou.
Ballou says it’s all on us, to prevent fires in our community.
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