SCCF to get fire district’s old pick-up
The Sanibel Fire and Rescue District’s commission approved donating a surplus truck to the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation at its meeting, as well as requested a report on response times.
On Feb. 13, the commissioners voted 3-0 to adopt a resolution to provide SCCF with its 1999 Ford utility pick-up for use in the conservation of coastal habitats and aquatic resources on the islands.
Fire Chief Matt Scott had proposed donating the old truck to the organization for its parts. At the January meeting, he told the commission that SCCF officials were “ecstatic” for the donation.
Also during the meeting, Commissioner Jerry Muench asked about response times for runs to the island’s east end with season now in full spring. He questioned whether service times doubled.
Assistant Fire Chief William Briscoe said he would have to run a report to answer.
“Without running the report,” he said. “I would say it adds a significant amount of time.”
While limited access roads and the additional traffic play a part in increasing call times, Briscoe reported that another factor is motorists not moving out of the way or not moving far enough over.
“People do not move,” he said.
Muench explained that he understands the majority of the district’s calls are for medical emergencies and “minutes count” in those situations. He raised concern about the result of the longer responses.
“The number of minutes,” Muench said. “We need to look into that.”
It led to a discussion between the commission and attending staff about the protocol for responding to back-to-back calls, use of the helicopter for transport and getting extra ambulances out to the island.
Briscoe agreed to run a report with a focus on the east end in season and out of season.
He will present his findings at next month’s meeting.
“With the number of calls increasing (annually), we may have to look at something,” Muench said.
Also at the meeting, Briscoe reported that the grant for the new boat has been completed and he is waiting on quotes. The district is seeking funds from the West Coast Inland Navigation District.
“We’re limited on our size,” he said, referring to the vessel having to fit in the storage slip.
Aimed for inclusion in the fiscal year 2019-2020 budget, the new boat will replace the district’s current vessel. The existing boat, a 1997 model, was a “demo” that was bought used in fiscal year 2010-2011.
Briscoe noted the deadline to submit the grant application is March 1.
“Once we place the order, we’re probably still looking at 10 months out (before receipt),” he said.
Briscoe also told the commissioners that the boat, which was being repaired, was expected back that day, that he had received bids for work on the interior water-damaged drywall at Station 172 and it was anticipated to start the following week, and that the Station 172 tower work was with city permitting.
“So we’re waiting on that,” he said of the replacement radio tower.
Training Officer Capt. Tim Barrett reported that district took part in the recent prescribed burn at Legion Curve along Sanibel-Captiva Road. He estimated that a couple hundred acres were burned.
“Then they had an inch of rain, and it put out everything left that was smoking,” he said.
Barrett noted that the burn started in the afternoon.
“Everybody did good, everybody worked together,” he said of the participating agencies.
Barrett also told the commission that personnel had completed confined space training at the Donax facility in January while it was out of service. They put a “victim” at the bottom of a tank and rescuers had to figure out how to get into the tank and extract the person safely.
He reported that hazardous materials training is tentatively scheduled with the Island Water Association. Training with the aerial ladder truck, hose-to-house training and more is also set.
“It’ll be a busy month,” Barrett said.
At the meeting, Fire Marshal Rick Tassoni reported that the renovation plans for BIG ARTS are in. He explained that the new compound will be a mix of one-story and two-story interconnected buildings.
“The footprint is similar,” he said, referring to the existing grounds.
He told the commission that the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum project is a bit delayed. Tassoni explained that it is working on ensuring the ground-floor aquariums are storm-proof.
The Sanibel Sunset Beach Resort is looking at April or May for its demolition.
IN OTHER NEWS
– The district’s annual open house is scheduled for March 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
– Chief Financial Officer and Administrator Mary Hickey reported that the district recently received a $200,000 from Lee County for collected taxes. She noted that the district is paid as the monies come in.
– The district responded to 164 calls for service in January, compared to 154 for January of last year.
“So we’re already starting again to beat last year,” Briscoe said.