The SCCF Wildlife & Habitat Management Program recently used its air curtain burner incinerator for the first time at the Bailey Homestead Preserve to burn a pile of woody debris. This machine allows staff to burn woody debris from trees and shrubs with minimal smoke effects and to eradicate debris onsite.

SCCF purchased its Burn Boss Air Curtain Incinerator earlier this year. This diesel-powered incinerator has a burn space of 12’ x 4’ x 4’ that is attached to a trailer and can be transported with a pick-up truck. Its mobility will allow us to move it from site to site instead of leaving debris piles onsite to breakdown naturally or undertake the time-consuming process of physical debris removal. 

How It Works

The machine traps smoke particles in the machine and reburns them inside, reducing smoke impacts outside. Debris is simply loaded into the 12’ x 4’ box and is lit on fire with diesel as the fuel accelerant. When the fire has become sustainably robust, the machine is turned on and a powerful fan forces air over the top to trap smoke particles from escaping while reburning them.

Although this machine cannot be used for very large items, it will help tremendously with most of our debris. Getting rid of organic debris has always been an issue on Sanibel because of the sheer volume SCCF staff is tasked with removing, which is logistically more complicated on an island.