Comments on: After No Volunteer Response To Fires, Paid Crews Added To One Escambia Fire Station

By: Mayflower70

Mayflower70 — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 02:41:36 +0000

As the mother of one of the volunteer firefighters in the county, I know how much time , effort and dedication it takes for these men and women to do something they truly love. They spend countless hours away from their families not only to be on call to serve their community, but for the required training. I personally have gone to the station to spend Christmas, birthdays and New Years with my kid. What was important to them, was to make sure someone was there at the station for whoever, whenever. It is not about the dollar. I know that some of the volunteers at Ferry Pass might feel disheartened with the recent events; But, we applaud your dedication and service. I lived down the street in your district for years, and you are a pretty busy group. You have done a great job with the resources and staff you have and I for one am very proud of you. Don’t let the issue at hand and one individual tarnish how you feel about your station or the services you have provided.

By: Mark T

Mark T — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 21:27:21 +0000

No problem with volunteer firemen, but something as critical as emergency and fire response should permanent paid personnel in my opinion..

By: James

James — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 15:56:12 +0000

These volunteers take the same risk as any other fire fighter i applaud there courage thank you for your service

By: northend

northend — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 14:24:26 +0000

and the volunteers would not want to work for the county most of them have way better jobs the county fire has not had a raise in years and starting pay is 12.49hr at a 8hr station and like 8 or 9hr for a 24hr station so dont look at them like they need a hand out the proplem is EMS

By: north end

north end — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 13:08:31 +0000

the problem is EMS having fire dispatched to every little medical call thats the volume every one is talking about ensley runs about 6 to 12 calls a 24hr shift give or take a few do you think all of those are fires heck no most are medical calls at 80% car wrecks at 15% and 5% fires EMS closest unit to molino is century or Wst that is crap the news really needs to look at the real proplem all this volume is due to supporting EMS and there calls ensley runs over 3000 calls a year if you think its all house fires your nuts

By: M in Bratt

M in Bratt — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 11:43:32 +0000

The Ferry Pass Fire District encompasses approx 25 sq. miles (Approx. the size of the entire City of Pensacola), and protects a mall, a major hospital, several nursing homes and rehab centers, and a myriad of other hazards. It should have had a paid fire dept. years ago. It’s about time.

By: Gman

Gman — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 09:54:37 +0000

Every station in this county should be staffed with paid firefighters. Raise my tax or increase the MSU fee I have no problem paying for a worthy cause. I’m sure the volunteers would accept a paid position if offered.

By: writingonthewall

writingonthewall — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 01:48:05 +0000

It’s high time the volunteers get recognized as a group just like the career guys do with their union. The volunteers are ordered not to talk with the commissioners and media regarding certain matters whereas the union can blast whatever they want with no consequences. We only hear single sided information because the volunteers don’t have an official voice. With all of this negative media coverage, no wonder volunteer numbers are down. Good luck getting people to join with the fire chief bashing his own volunteer station on tv. Good job chief.

By: Mike Amerson

Mike Amerson — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 23:44:12 +0000

I have been a long time advocate of having all Fire Fighters be paid. With the amount of calls they all handle, they all should be paid positions. It’s sad when the long time County way is to react than to act. If you’re the one of the receiving end of needing their assistance, you would feel the same way about the topic. Why should they have to provide their Service when they’re others in the same Station receiving a full time paycheck? It’s just a receipt for exactly what has happen here. I will always support all of them to be paid. Just my opinion. Thanks, Mike Amerson

By: BT

BT — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 23:38:30 +0000

I don’t like it, but I understand why you would have volunteer firefighters in the rural areas. It doesn’t make sense to pay a professional team to run a couple of calls a week.

But Ferry Pass is hardly rural. In addition to the fairly dense population, there’s a university, all sorts of medical facilities, and several key roads running through that district.

Credit the volunteers that they’ve been to handle so much of the call load to this point.