Firefighters are usually risking their lives to rescue others from burning blazes, but some will soon begin training to battle bees.
Clay County rescue workers will be training to save a person from Africanized honeybees.
Africanized honeybees, also called killer bees because they attack with enough force to seriously injure or kill someone, come from Southern Africa and were first spotted in the United States in October of 1990.
More and more of the bees have been spotted in Florida, and officials said it's only a matter of time before the killer bees are in the River City.
Clay County Fire Operations Chief Fred McCutche said the threat is on the horizon.
"In 25 years in the fire service, I never thought I would have to stand here and say we have to plan now for an insect," McCutche said.
But they're not just any insect; they're insects so aggressive they attacked and killed six 8-week-old puppies in West Palm Beach.
"When they do get here, we will be ready and not be playing catch-up," McCutche said.
The department is holding training seminars to teach firefighters to use firefighting foam to combat the bees.
Clark's Pest Control President Richard Clark said it's good that the fire department is preparing.
"They will go for your eyes, nose and mouth. They have suffocated animals by crawling in their mouth and stinging," Clark said.
He said the Africanized honeybees are much more aggressive than regular bees, and that the reason they're in the U.S. is because of an experiment that went wrong and allowed them to escape and migrate.
Channel 4 reporter Emily Pantelides reported that Jacksonville is currently the only city in Florida that doesn't have killer bees. Port officials said that's because it's doing everything right.
"Agriculture division conducts regular inspections for the Aficanized HoneyBee," said Jax Port spokesman Jeff Price.
Jacksonville Fire Rescue said it does not have any plans in place to fight killer bees.
