Midway Fire Department Cutting Back

Florida Emergency Fire protection in one Florida town may have been compromised after voters rejected a fee that would have given the Midway Fire District extra funding.

by Debbie Williams

Published: Thu, January 31, 2008 - 6:12 pm CST

Fire protection in one Florida town may have been compromised after voters rejected a fee that would have given the Midway Fire District extra funding. So far, four firefighters have lost jobs, all three battalion chiefs have been demoted and all community services canceled but that may be just the beginning.
It's "check-out" day at Midway Fire Station Number 1. The day firefighters make sure all their equipment is working and ready if needed. For Lt. Clayton Miller, this is his last "Check-Out" day. "Amendment one passed and Midway assessment fee failed." He says the failure cut the district budget by 600 thousand dollars costing him his job and as many as 19 of his co-workers could be affected. "Those four and a half minute response times won't be there anymore those response times will be six and a half to seven minutes."
The fire department asked voters to approve an assessment fee of 224 dollars a little more for businesses. Voters said, no. Now fire officials say they may really pay.
Those that voted against the fee aren't apologizing. "There are fire districts in Escambia performing the same type service at a lower rate. They'll just have to tighten their budget, I guess," says an unidentified shopper at the local Winn Dixie.
Now the emergency is at the fire department according to Lt. Miller, "We've now taken a step back 10 to 12 years in time we've been drastically affected and it's not getting better."
The question now is who will answer their 911 call.

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