SPRING HILL, Tenn. --
Many would expect smoke and flames to be the biggest battle facing Spring Hill firefighters, but venomous spiders are a threat as well.
Spiders of all kinds, including brown recluses, are so bad in one fire hall that they are literally falling from the ceiling tiles.
At least two Spring Hill firefighters at the station along Beechcroft Road have been bitten recently, and the fire chief said the problem has to be resolved soon.
Along with listening for calls, Spring Hill firefighters have found some spiders crawling across the floor.
"We keep an eye out for spiders or anything like that," said Capt. Kevin Glenn of the Spring Hill Fire Department. "I know people have woken up with a spider on their bedspread."
A spider was found lying on a lieutenant's camouflage bedspread about three weeks ago.
"The guys don't even make their bed up until they get ready to go to bed at night cause they are afraid they are going to get in their bed and they do get in their bed," said Spring Hill Fire Chief Jim Swindle.
While these spiders haven't proven to be dangerous for Spring Hill firefighters yet, earlier this month in Macon County, 3-year-old Kaylee Davis died a day after being bitten by a brown recluse spider.
The official cause of Kaylee's death hasn't been determined by the state medical examiner's office, but she could be the eighth person to die from a venomous spider bite in the past 11 years in Tennessee.
According to the state department of health, in 2008 more than 15,000 people visited Tennessee's emergency rooms and 708 were admitted for stays due to spider bites.
"We've fought these spiders for a couple years," said Swindle.
Swindle said they hired a couple of different exterminators, but recently fired them. They are now using a spray bomb every week to combat and hopefully get rid of the spiders.
Experts say the brown recluse spider is actually shy and will only bite if they are injured. An exterminator that Channel 4 News talked to on Monday said most of his calls to get rid of spiders come during the months of May through September when weather is warm.
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