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Many people have the luxury of an air-conditioned office with temperatures hovering in the mid to low-70s. Marco Island Fire-Rescue Department firefighters have called a 50,000-acre smoke-filled inferno their place of business this month.

MIF-RD Chief Mike Murphy said the current brush fires are a major disaster that is threatening homes and disrupting wildlife and the environment.

Without needed rain, many parts of Florida continue to be dry. Bolts of lightning can ignite new fires quickly.

Personnel from the MIF-RD joined other firefighters in a massive effort to battle the blazes. MIF-RD firefighters and equipment have been deployed to many wildland fires in both Collier and Lee counties this month.

On May 7, MIF-RD units where dispatched as part of a Collier County Task Force to a wildland fire on Bonita Beach Road east of Interstate 75.

MIF-RD Deputy Chief Chris Byrne and firefighters with Engine 50 arrived in Bonita Springs. They were assigned to the southwest division of the fire to protect threatened residential homes and support Department of Forestry bulldozer operators building fire lines.

On May 8, the East Naples Fire Department asked the MIF-RD to assist with a wildland fire on Sable Palm Road east of Collier Boulevard. The Sable Palm section of the blaze was the western section of the massive Picayune Strand fire.

“Picayune Strand is a wildlife management area but there are people living out there,” said MIF-RD Capt. Tom Bogan.

Byrne and firefighters responded with Engine 50 and Brush Truck 50, along with multiple units from the East Naples and Isles of Capri fire departments.

Engines, which hold a large amount of water, were stationed on pavement and clear areas to protect structures. Brush trucks, which can maneuver in wooded areas, fight the fires.

“The units experienced a fast-moving fire due to weather conditions and concentrated efforts on structural protection,” Byrne said.

MIF-RD Capt. Tom Bogan, firefighter/EMT Jamil Smith and engineer/EMT Steve Hagman were assigned to protect structures in a trailer park. Hagman was the driver and pump operator. It was Smith’s first brush fire encounter.

The team worked a 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. shift for five days. Firefighters and Brush Truck 23 from the ENFD also worked the area.

The firefighters donned goggles, respirators, long pants and shirts and helmets. Each firefighter carried a small shiny space-age emergency tent to deploy in case they got caught within the blaze or suffered smoke inhalation.

“You only use it in an extreme case of emergency,” Bogan said. “It’s the last ditch effort to get on the ground and deploy it to protect yourself and let the fire go over you.”

During the operation, the crew rescued an occupant of a trailer home.

“The fire started in a little corner and you could hear it coming,” Smith recalled. “We really didn’t think it was going to come towards us.”

The wind increased and the flames grew to 20 feet high. The wind pushed the blaze within 20 feet of the home.

“We also had a spot fire that came into the open field that we were in,” Smith said. “It was pretty big but we put it out.”

Bogan said the spot fire swept toward a Ford Bronco in the field.

“We saved the Bronco and the house,” he said.

After the blaze passed the firefighters, they began protecting structures further to the east.

MIF-RD Capt. Tim Warner and firefighter/EMT Brian Franklin worked on another brush truck during their shift. It was Franklin’s first encounter of a brush fire.

“We teamed up with the others and helped protect the trailer park,” Franklin said. “The Division of Forestry brought in a bunch of tractors. They started knocking down a bunch of trees to make paths behind the fire.”

Franklin said he and Warner drove down the paths in the truck and “black lined” the fire with water (when water is sprayed on ash-covered ground, the result is a black line).

“When the fire heads through, we try to keep narrowing and narrowing it down,” Bogan said. “We try to black line the whole perimeter of it to keep it from spreading, unless the wind cracks. Then it goes over the top.”

Franklin said the smoke was so thick, he and the other firefighters could not see their hands in front of them.

“You could feel the heat coming off and hear it burning behind you as it was going up the trees,” he added.

“The hard part is sitting on that line,” Hagman said. “Everything else is pretty easy.”

Last Thursday, the MIF-RD was asked to help at the Big Cypress Preserve. Byrne, Hagman and Capt. Dave Batiato, along with four brush trucks, worked with the Isles of Capri, East Naples, Ochopee and Big Corkscrew Island fire departments.

Because the fire was on federal land, teams from the western United States traveled to Florida to join the effort. Byrne said he, Hagman and Batiato teamed up with a “Hot-Shot Crew” from Utah.

“It was a great experience for them and us,” Byrne said. “We learned from them and they learned from us. They were phenomenal firefighters.”

On Friday, the MIF-RD assisted the ENFD and the DOF in the south blocks of Miller Boulevard.

Byrne said the Picayune fire, which consumed approximately 18,000 acres, required response from all the fire departments in Collier County, as well as a Lee County Strike Team.

“The firefighters from throughout Collier County worked long days and nights to control this large wildland fire, one of the largest we have had in the county in a long time,” Byrne said. He credited the firefighters and the fire chiefs and DOF supervisors who were involved in the command and coordination of the massive blaze.

The effort protected and saved many homes and brought the fire under control. Byrne said only a few firefighters suffered injuries.

Murphy also noted the effort of many firefighters.

“I am very proud of all of the firefighters and especially our firefighters from Marco Island that are out there every day trying to bring these major brush fires under control,” he said. “Marco Island firefighters are dedicated to their profession and it is nice to see the Florida Fire Chiefs’ Statewide Mutual Aid agreement working and many fire departments coming together to make a difference for the residents of Florida.”

Byrne is keeping an eye on the fire in North Florida in case the MIF-RD is asked to assist and send personnel and equipment.

“In past active wildland seasons, Marco Island Fire Rescue and other Collier County fire departments have responded to Brevard, Volusia and Alachua counties to assist with large brush fires,” he noted.