Monroe County Firefighters Rescue Fawn from Brush Fire, Aid Other Wildlife

Monroe County firefighter Jen Shockley Brack, identified in some reports as Jen Shockley, jumped through flames on Big Pine Key to rescue an endangered Key deer fawn that had run into burning brush at the corner of Raccoon Run and Wilder Boulevard. The fawn was given oxygen, water and wrapped in a blanket before being released into a nearby unburned area by 3 a.m. Monday, Monroe County officials said.

Accounts of the rescue published by FOX 13 and Good Morning America describe crews battling the brush fire on Big Pine Key since Sunday afternoon. FOX 13 quoted Shockley saying, "I jumped into the flames and saved the little guy," and reported the fawn "was all by himself and running for his life into the fire." Good Morning America quoted Shockley Brack: "I wasn’t scared. I saw his big eyes and he was so scared and trembling, I just had to get him," and added that rescue workers brought the fawn to a truck and wrapped him in a sheet while crews brought the blaze under control.

Good Morning America reported the fire burned 100 acres and destroyed one residence, and FOX 13 said there were no reported human injuries. FOX 13 also reported Monroe County officials continued to battle flare ups Monday night. The published accounts attribute the large size of the fire in part to downed trees left by Hurricane Irma, which investigators and responders said provided additional fuel.

The accounts include a statement attributed to Dan Clark, Refuge Manager of the National Key Deer Refuge: "During the brush fire, no Key deer have been found unharmed, says Dan Clark, Refuge Manager of the National Key Deer Refuge." FOX 13 reported that it is unusual to see a fawn without its mother nearby, noting Key deer usually do not need to be rescued because of their evolved behavior.

Elsewhere in the Keys, Upper Keys crews made a separate animal response. Keys Weekly reported on March 5, 2026, that Key Largo Fire Rescue crews answered a call for a monkey in a tree on Transylvania Avenue; the animal eventually descended and returned to its owner. Key Largo Fire Rescue posted on Facebook, "Even the wildlife keeps us on our toes," the Weekly reported. The Keys Weekly item also referenced an incident involving an Islamorada fire chief but the published excerpt was truncated and did not include full details.

Local animal-care organizations that serve the Keys were noted as operational resources during wildlife incidents. Pawsitive Beginnings lists the Turtle Hospital, a 501(c)(3) veterinary hospital that rescues, rehabs and releases sea turtles in the Florida Keys; the Upper Keys Humane Society in Key Largo, described as the only No-Kill shelter in Monroe County; the Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center, which rehabilitates native and migratory birds; and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Animal Farm, which began in 1994 beneath the Stock Island Detention Center and occupies a secure fenced area under the hurricane-rated structure.

Photographers credited the Monroe County BOCC/Facebook for images of the Big Pine Key response. Monroe County officials say crews remained on scene into Monday night fighting flare ups; officials reported the rescued fawn was unharmed and released in line with Key Deer Refuge policy.