If you haven't removed the hurricane shutters and boards from your home, do it now. That's the advice from fire officials, who say leaving your home shuttered could pose a potentially deadly fire hazard.
“All residential rooms are required to have two points of egress,” said Flagler County Fire Marshal Jerry Smith. “If there is a fire, it is important to make sure you have a way to get out of your home.”
The county's firefighters follow a “vent, enter, search” protocol, which means they will enter room-by-room and search them to ensure everyone is out of the burning structure. Shuttered and boarded-up windows can hinder this process.
“A fire inside a home with shuttered windows may not be visible until it is too late,” said Flagler County Fire Rescue Chief Don Petito. “It can delay firefighters trying to enter a home that is on fire.”
