JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Agencies in Jacksonville are preparing as Hurricane Debby approaches the Florida Big Bend.
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Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department Chief Keith Powers encouraged the crews before they get sent out.
“The work that they do is extremely dangerous when you’re working at night in the dark, around downed power lines and trees that are falling and that have already fallen, it is a recipe for somebody to get hurt,” Powers said. " And my encouragement to them was please be safe, because it’s it’s our job, my job to make sure they go home safe to their families every day.”
Powers said the chance that someone could get hurt and not go back home is a concern of his.
The Emergency Road Access Team is also working this week to help clear roads to allow emergency crews access to people who need help throughout the storm.
“If we have any issues with flooding, or downed trees, blocking our emergency vehicles from being able to access 911 calls, that’s when these teams will take over and then our normal crews will be responding to the normal emergencies like they do on a daily basis,” Powers said.
JEA is also preparing as much as possible before the hurricane’s impact.
“We take the extra time, the days before the storm, for our water wastewater to close up projects, that means close up excavation safely and remove barricades so that they don’t become flying projectiles,” Jackie Scheel, Director of Water, Wastewater Reuse Delivery and Collection of JEA. “We work any job that we have that’s ongoing, we put as many crews and forces on it to get those taken care of because we just can’t leave open holes and we have to fix the water.
Jacksonville Transportation Authority offered free shuttle rides for six hours to shelters through Evacuation Route buses.
The City of Jacksonville opened three shelters on Sunday at the Legends Center, LaVilla Middle School, and Landmark Middle School.
JTA Chief Safety and Security Officer Chris Geraci encourages anyone who needs the shelters to use them.
“If you’re a low-lying area and you have typically flooded in the past, you’re going to flood again, and you should take advantage of the shelters that we offer,” Geraci said.
If you have any issues with outages, call 904-665-6000.