Letters to the Editors

Letters: Emergency service should be uniform throughout county

Re: Assembly to seek common ground, April 21.

I find Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch's comments in the St. Petersburg Times regarding fire consolidation to be seriously flawed. The flaws are many; however, I will list only the most important.

First, Pinellas County has a long history of not providing fire protection. For many years the unincorporated areas of Pinellas County burned uncontrolled. Around 1973, after a tragic fire in the Greenbriar Apartments within the unincorporated area between Clearwater and Dunedin, a woman died. After the fire, the county held a vote forming fire districts and contracted fire protection to the existing fire departments (both large and small).

Countywide Emergency Medical Services had a similar tragic start. Most of the cities had advanced life-support paramedics. The unincorporated area did not. An EMS call went down in Pinellas Park, in an unincorporated area. No fire department would respond, as the area was unprotected, and again a life was lost. The result: the countywide EMS tax and contracts to the existing cities and fire departments for providing service to the unincorporated areas.

All existing fire and EMS providers are using closest unit automatic aid. This system is cost-effective, efficient and, for all practical purposes, functionally consolidates all the various departments.

Total consolidation of fire protection in Pinellas County could be a wonderful proposition if done correctly. The model would be to bring all areas up to National Fire Protection Association Standard 1710, the standard for organization and deployment of fire suppression, including operations, emergency medical operations and special operations by career departments.

The NFPA 1710 Code Standard includes:

Minimum engine company staffing level of four personnel.

Minimum truck company staffing level of four personnel.

Rescue trucks staffing level with two paramedics.

First due unit must arrive in four minutes.

The fire department must be capable of establishing the incident command system, a water supply, an initial attack line with a backup line, search and rescue teams, and rapid intervention.

Minimum requirements for health and safety, incident management, training communications and planning are also covered.

However, bringing all areas up to NFPA Standard 1710 may result in building more fire stations, adding water mains and hydrants, and hiring additional firefighters, and in addition, eliminating ALS engines and providing transport-capable box units and standalone engine and truck companies for every fire station.

Commissioner Welch should talk to members of the fire community and study the history of fire districts and automatic aid. He and others involved should also become familiar with NFPA 1710. They would soon be aware that most apparatus in Pinellas County falls below recommended four-person engine company staffing standards. Furthermore, many response times exceed the four-minute maximum identified in the code.

Many administrations and managers will be shocked when they see how many personnel are needed to stop a fire in a single-family dwelling, or the staffing required for a leaking tanker. No single fire station anywhere in the county meets the current standards.

Any sincere effort to consolidate should be directly related to uniform service at the same level throughout the entire county at a uniform cost. This will ensure that all taxpayers receive the protection they deserve and will be paying for.
-- William J. Stout, fire chief, City of Safety Harbor

It's safe boating week

Florida has the dubious distinction, for whatever reasons, of having the highest number of boat accidents in the nation. The U.S. Power Squadron and the Coast Guard Auxiliary have both been known for their public boat information classes; both organizations do vessel inspections.

On May 16, the mayor of Clearwater will affirm a proclamation that National Safe Boating Week has arrived. For further information, contact Ted O'Brien of the U.S. Power Squadron at (727) 785-8634.
-- Edward T. O'Brien, Clearwater

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