Milton moves off Florida’s coast after lashing state with torrential downpours, deadly tornadoes

VIDEO: After making landfall Wednesday night near Siesta Key, Hurricane Milton is moving off the east coast of Florida while continuing to produce damaging winds and life-threatening floods Thursday morning. Even before Milton made landfall as a powerful Category 3 storm, outer bands from the system washed over the state Wednesday morning, sparking up tornadoes and giving residents an idea of the wrath Milton packed. Milton lashed west Florida and surrounding areas Wednesday night, bringing torrential downpours and winds of 120 mph — strong enough to rip the roof off Tropicana Field, a stadium in St. Petersburg housing thousands of first responders. The system is forecast to keep its hurricane status until exiting the east coast of Florida on Thursday morning.
WESH-TV NBC 2 Daytona Beach

Falling trees take down power lines, sparking fire in Altamonte Springs during Hurricane Milton

VIDEO: Seminole County firefighters shared videos of burning power lines which went down in Altamonte Springs during Hurricane Milton. Firefighters responded around 5:49 a.m. Thursday to the 300 block of Forest Avenue, securing the roadway and monitoring the blaze from a distance, the Seminole County Fire Department said on social media. The bulk of the fire self extinguished, the post states, adding the incident was ultimately handed over to the relevant power company. It’s just the latest report in Central Florida of a power line causing a fire after being downed during Hurricane Milton. In Orlando, two cats died in a house fire Wednesday night that was sparked by a downed power line along Jeannine Court.
WKMG-TV CBS 6 Orlando

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue responds to tornado damage in multiple areas

The Palm Beach County Fire Rescue confirmed Wednesday night that it responded to multiple reports of tornadoes, injuries and trapped people in the Wellington, Acreage, and Loxahatchee areas on Wednesday afternoon. Fire rescue said it began to receive 911 telephone calls just before 5 p.m. The calls lasted for more than 50 minutes. Fire rescue added, several tornado-related incidents were found in the Deer Path Lane area of Wellington and near Northlake and Coconut Boulevards in the Acreage and Loxahatchee areas. At least 40 fire rescue units responded to the affected areas while the tornado was active. "Firefighters located and rescued multiple people from damaged structures and vehicles," fire rescue said in a statement.
WPBF-TV ABC 25 Tequesta

Tampa General Hospital sets up ’aquafence,’ preparedness plan ahead of Hurricane Milton

As the Tampa Bay area braces for Hurricane Milton's landfall, officials with Tampa General Hospital announced they have opened their incident command center and implemented their preparedness plan. That plan includes setting up their "aquafence," a water-impermeable barrier that can withstand storm surge up to 15 feet above sea level, and stocking important supplies at all of their locations. "We have a proactive and comprehensive plan in place to protect our locations against severe weather so we can continue to provide the exceptional care for which our patients turn to Tampa General,” said Assistant Director of Public Safety Erinn Skiba. The hospital will also look to its Central Energy Plant, a 16,000-square-foot on-site energy source that will provide backup power to the building if there's a disruption.
WTSP-TV CBS 10 St. Petersburg

Palm Beach Gardens raises firefighter salaries, shortens work weeks to attract new recruits

The city’s fire department is preparing to hire 33 new firefighters, reduce employee working hours and give raises to its personnel. The City Council in September approved a new three-year contract for firefighters and paramedics, which will cost more than $5.8 million over the length of the contract. Starting Oct. 1, sworn employees began to receive a 24% salary increase given in increments until the contract expires. They received raises as part of their previous contract, but those were not as high as this year’s, according to Fire Chief Keith Bryer. In the third year of the new contract, firefighters will follow a new work cycle of 24 hours on duty and then 72 hours off, which is six fewer working hours each week. Bryer said the higher pay and shorter workweeks will help the department recruit more new employees, which has been a challenge amid a nationwide shortage of firefighter recruits.
Palm Beach Post - Metered Site

1 person killed when SUV hits tree, catches fire in Escambia County, FHP says

Authorities in Florida are working to identify a driver killed after a vehicle crashed and caught fire. The Florida Highway Patrol said it responded to the scene on westbound Interstate 10 near the 15 mile marker in Escambia County around 2:52 p.m. Monday. Troopers arrived to find a small SUV on fire on the right shoulder of the interstate. Escambia County Fire put the fire out, the FHP said. One person was found inside the SUV. A witness told troopers that the SUV had been heading west on the inside lane when it veered off to the right, hit a large oak tree head on and burst into flames, the FHP said.
WALA-TV FOX 10 Mobile

’Heads in Beds’ program in Lee County helps first responders

The Visitor & Convention Bureau globally markets Lee County and all of Southwest Florida, facilitates travel to the area, and protects the area's unique attributes for the benefit of residents and tourism. But during tropical cyclones, the VCB also works with local hotels to find rooms for the various response teams who help in the storm’s aftermath. These teams include FPL linemen, search and rescue teams from FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, National Guard, and Department of Forestry. “As emergency workers pull into town," VCB Communications Director Ray Sarracino said, "we want to make sure we have places to stash them when they get here.” The VCB calls the program “heads in beds.” Its purpose is to ensure that every emergency responder has a place to sleep and shower before rejoining the fray.
WGCU-FM 90.1 Fort Myers