A Times Editorial

Issue should be saving lives and homes, not turf

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 19, 2000

If you want to know what is wrong with fire and emergency services in Pinellas County, just look at what is going on between the Seminole and Indian Rocks fire departments.

The issue would seem to be a simple one. In October, the Redington beach communities will stop contracting with Indian Rocks for fire protection and pay Seminole for the services instead. To guarantee a quicker response, the Redingtons asked Seminole to build a fire station on the beach so firetrucks wouldn't have to cross a drawbridge. With Pinellas County's help, Seminole chose land in Indian Shores, just north of Redington Shores.

The problem? The Indian Rocks fire department opposes the station because Indian Shores is in the Indian Rocks fire district. And why is that a problem?

"We can't just stand idly by and let some other people provide fire service within our district," Indian Rocks Fire District attorney Jeff Albinson said in January.

They way he says it, you would think answering fire alarms was a crime.

Here is what Albinson means. When there is an emergency, the closest firetruck responds. That means if Seminole builds a station in Indian Shores, Seminole would answer many emergency calls in that city.

The additional fire coverage would not cost Indian Shores residents anything and it could provide a faster emergency response in that city as well as in the Redingtons. So why would the Indian Rocks fire department fight against improved emergency service?

Apparently, it is more interested in protecting turf than in protecting property and lives. In fact, Indian Rocks is now considering building its own fire station in Indian Shores, maybe within sight of the proposed Seminole station.

Albinson put the issue this way: "If we were talking wastewater and not fire service, there would be no way Seminole would be allowed to do that, and frankly, I think it should be analogous," he said.

There are important differences in treating sewage and fighting fires, of course. But in Pinellas County's byzantine fire and EMS system, the confusion is understandable -- the mission is often lost among the machinations.

The Pinellas County Commission could, and should, step in and resolve this dispute. And here is one good reason: Improved public safety is at stake. But so far the commissioners have chosen not to enter this squabble, perhaps fearing the political ire of firefighter unions and the mean-spirited parochialism of fire officials.

So a judge may have to decide whether Seminole can build a fire station on the beach to better serve residents in several cities at no additional cost to those residents.

And that is what is wrong with fire and emergency services in Pinellas County.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.