ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- There may be nothing scarier than alligators or venomous snakes breaking loose from a zoo and going through a neighborhood.
That's exactly what the rumor was during the last two hurricanes, involving animals at the Alligator Farm.
The Alligator Farm trained the St. Augustine Fire Department this week about how to deal with venomous snakes and even with alligators.
Christ Pacetti with the St. Augustine Alligator Farm said, "Many people have animals in their homes. some of them are exotic."
But this isn't the only time firefighters and zookeepers here work hand-in-hand.
Pacetti said during hurricanes Matthew and Irma, "I got called from the Emergency Ops Center three times in the last two hurricanes, saying 'The fences are down and the gators are escaping.' I thought, 'I don't think that makes sense at all.'"
Alligator Farm Director John Brueggen said, "Someone started a rumor on Facebook that the fences had blown down and alligators were on the loose on Anastasia Island."
Pacetti came to check the Alligator Farm one of those times. "We brought the truck and ran the perimeter of the fences"
And the fences were fine. No animal had escaped.
"They're kind of the gold standard as far as zoos go," Pacetti said.
The Alligator Farm -- like many zoos -- has a hurricane plan in place. Part of it includes putting animals such as birds and monkeys in concrete buildings.
"With venomous snakes," Pacetti noted, "they usually put them in a bag of some sort. Then they put them in a plastic box and then into an enclosure that's inside of a poured concrete building."
And the alligators say behind all those fences.
Brueggen said there are so many fences at the Alligator Farm that it would take a lot for an animal to escape. An alligator would have to overcome at least three fences.
Firefighters are familiar with the layout of the alligator farm, just in case it's needed during a hurricane.
"These guys have access to the island even when it's evacuated. So they can check on things when we're not here," Brueggen said."
And while the story of alligators breaking out was just a rumor, firefighters train and zoo keepers prepare the park to keep you safe during hurricanes or just a regular day on the job in Florida.