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Firefighters' workers' comp woes resolved
By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK, Times Staff Writer HERNANDO BEACH -- The Hernando Beach Volunteer Fire District experienced a mini-crisis this week, when its workers' compensation insurance carrier canceled its policy and the department had no replacement coverage in place. County commissioners worried that having uninsured firefighters tackling blazes could open the county to huge liability if something went wrong. Some contemplated closing the volunteer department until it got its financial house in order. By noon Wednesday, though, the situation had worked itself out. The county's insurance agent found a new workers' comp carrier for the district, with the policy taking effect in 30 days, budget director George Zoettlein said. Until the new coverage kicks in, the county will make the firefighters official county volunteers so they qualify for county workers' compensation insurance, commission chairwoman Nancy Robinson said after a two-hour meeting on the subject with volunteer Chief Dan Chichester, County Administrator Richard Radacky and other high-level government officials. As a separate agency, the volunteers would not have been eligible for county insurance, Robinson said. And once the new policy becomes effective, the district will revert to its separate status. "It's all settled," Robinson concluded. "It's business as usual." Even the worst case scenario would not have resulted in a notable change in service to Hernando Beach residents, said Danny Roberts, operations chief of the Hernando County Fire Rescue District. "We provide assistance any way we can," Roberts said. "We have Station 15, which is our ambulance station, right there on Shoal Line, and we have Station 12 (nearby)."
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From today's Hernando Times Editorial Letters |
