Fire districts hope to expand staff, services

In the Estero, Bonita Springs and San Carlos Park fire districts, between 5 percent and 8 percent of annual calls are fire-related.

Yet maturing communities and four new stations within the next year are prompting the districts to expand staff and services that extend beyond the reach of a few flames.

"There really are fewer fires, but you're always going to need a fire department," Estero fire board Chairman Dick Schweers said. "You're going to need that. You can't ignore that."

Roger Shelly, Bonita Springs' assistant fire chief, said that no fire department can predict what kinds of calls will come across the radio, so firefighters must be prepared to respond to all calls.

"You can't just plan that you are only going to have a medical call," he said.

In 2002, the Bonita Springs Fire Control & Rescue District responded to 4,021 calls within the district's 72 square miles. Out of those calls, only 212 were fire-related, while 2,663 were medical-related, according to a 2002 incident report.

Medical-related calls include rescue calls and vehicle crashes.

Records from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31 this year show that Bonita Springs firefighters and emergency crews have responded to 2,886 calls -- including 123 fire-related and 1,998 medical-related.

Within the 54 square miles of the San Carlos Park Fire Protection & Rescue Service District, 2002 records show that firefighters responded to 1,886 calls, 162 of which were fire-related.

The bulk of calls were medical-related, 1,592 in all.

Out of the 1,331 calls from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, San Carlos Park crew answered 100 fire-related calls and 880 medical-related calls.

Full records for 2002 were not immediately available for the Estero Fire Rescue district, Community Resource Manager Jim Clarke said.

However, from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, records show that staff responded to 1,282 calls, including 59 fire-related and 881 medical-related.

The remaining calls for all the districts were linked to incidents such as false alarms, gas or electrical problems and public service assistance.

San Carlos Park Fire Chief Nat Ippolito said that even though medical calls outweigh fire calls, the possibility of the fire calls creates a need for staff and stations.

"They still take a lot of time and manpower," he said. "If you look at the times spent on the calls, you'll see the fires outweigh the medical calls."

Growth in formerly undeveloped areas of the district presents challenges to fire officials trying to serve residents and creates a need for more staffing, Ippolito said.

Currently, the district has 42 firefighters and 18 paramedics. The district recently hired four new staff and are hoping to hire one to four more, depending on the staffing need once the district's newest station opens on Ben Hill Griffin Parkway in early November.

Currently the district has two stations. The station on Ben Hill Griffin Parkway will make the third, but district officials are hoping to build a fourth on the southeast corner of Three Oaks Parkway and Winged Foot Drive and a fifth station just south of Alico.

Ippolito likes to keep at least four firefighters in a station for each of the three daily shifts, a number that the National Fire Protection Association recommends for fire companies.

"It's basically just out there for industry good practice," Greg Tokle, NFPA assistant vice president for Public Fire Protection, said. "I think that, realistically, when you look at what is required in dealing with a fire in a structure, I think people would recognize that trying to do that with a crew of less than four is not a safe way."

In Bonita Springs, the fire district tries to keep at least four firefighters on each shift at each of its stations as well.

Yet with new stations, the four-person staff is in jeopardy, so the district is hoping to hire 15 new firefighters to supplement the 66 currently on staff, Shelly said.

The district hopes to open a station on South Bay Drive near U.S. 41 and Terry Street in December and two additional stations on Bonita Beach Road within the next five years. A station at Snell Lane and Bonita Grande Drive is scheduled to open in the summer of 2004, bringing the total to seven fire stations in the district.

"We need new personnel to man that station," Shelly said.

In Estero, the current firefighters will not be enough for the future, Schweers said.

The district now has three stations, but plans to build a fourth on U.S. 41 across from the Fountain Lakes in 2004. A fifth station with a proposed training center is in the works, but the timeline is not definite.

The district's budget for fiscal 2004 includes the salaries for five new firefighter/paramedics because many fire board members were concerned about the low staffing.

"More often than not, there may be only a two-man crew on duty," Schweers said. "We could use some beefing up there."

Yet no matter the type of call crew are dispatched to answer, Schweers said firefighters are no longer just what the name implies. All three fire districts provide advanced life support services, using firefighters who are also trained to be paramedics.

The advanced certifications make sense, considering the large number of medical calls, Schweers said, but it doesn't eliminate the need for stations, staffing and fire training.

"They have to be prepared, and they have to practice," Schweers said. "Fires do happen. You can't let it slide."