For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 9, 2006
President Bush and Governor Bush Visit Fire Station in Florida
Sun City Center Fire Station No. 28
Sun City Center, Florida
1:59 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Jeb and I just were briefed by the firefighters here about
the dry conditions that are creating hazards for the people -- and, Kelley,
I appreciate your briefing. He was in charge of putting out that fire
yesterday that consumed 450 acres. They think it was caused by a spark out
of one of the utility lines.
I've always been impressed by those who are willing to get out and fight
the fires, and save lives and save property. I'm surrounded by people who
made a career out of that. And I want to thank them for their dedication
to service, I want to thank them for the briefing about the threat we find
ourselves in, we've got dry and windy conditions.
The good news for the people of Florida is they've got people who are
willing to serve and willing to put their lives at risk and willing to
fight fires. There's one going on right now, as we speak. Kelley was
briefing us on the equipment and manpower that's in place fighting the
fire. This is one of these difficult periods for the state of Florida,
dealing with the traumatic conditions, as they are.
Obviously, the people need to be real careful -- be careful about starting
a fire, be careful about throwing used cigarettes out and be mindful these
are dangerous conditions, and they ought to be thoughtful about how to
conduct their lives so they don't put others in the positions where a fire
could destroy them or their property.
Do you want to say something, Jeb?
GOVERNOR BUSH: Well, other than the fact, as the President said, it's
actually right that if someone throws a cigarette out on the Interstate it
could create -- first of all, it's a loss of life and property and puts a
lot of people at risk. And it's a felony in our state. So we want to make
sure that no fires are started because of human error or negligence or
malfeasance.
THE PRESIDENT: Anyway, I want to thank you all for joining me.
END 2:01 P.m. EDT
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