Comments on: Escambia Raising County Fire Tax $25 Per Year To Staff South-End Stations

By: Danny

Danny — Thu, 21 Jul 2016 01:21:51 +0000

This is why we should always vote against any new taxes, once they start it always goes up no matter what. Just take a look at how many more people and houses there are here now with this cost put on every house that’s here THAT’S A LOT OF MONEY. I would suggest voters wake up before we find our selves not able to afford to live here.

By: James

James — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 22:11:40 +0000

What a lot of people don’t understand is paid coverage for their area is not always a plus, There are a lot of times you will see Cantonment at Ensley station, and Ensley at Brent or vise versa, and it’s not cause they are covering their district cause both crews are there. I personally don’t like paying a higher fire tax and the time I may need a response from them, they are 10 miles away.

By: Proud Servant of Our Community

Proud Servant of Our Community — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 17:47:21 +0000

*The Kicker
“$150,000 volunteer firefighter stipend increase!!!!!

The benefit that district 5 will be getting is the volunteer firefighters that will only be in the north end, will be paid a larger stipend in order to run calls….. more money=more incentive to run the calls

there you have it!!!”

The sacrifices we make to run these emergencies are not for a monthly stipend.
The stipend is meant to offset the food, gas, other necessities to running calls and staying at the station for long periods of time

Not a single volunteer in your community will ever say he won’t run this call because his monthly stipend is not enough. It would make more sense for the people who don’t understand our mentality to come up to a station and witness a training, or even sit with us and share stories around the dinner table.

We protect our community with a sense of pride and gratefulness and that will not be blurred out by money or politics.
From the complete start of this, politically swayed statistics to dodgy interviews ran by WEAR bashing volunteers to the ground is nothing short of dirty when all we want is the satisfaction of helping someone else.

By: The Kicker

The Kicker — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 05:10:34 +0000

Ok so here is the kicker… you ready???? There is no fight for District 5, as you will directly benefit from this MSBU increase, what is that you might ask??

Well if you read the article, the county wants to have complete career coverage on the south end, right?

So that means the north end will have for the most part all volunteers… you ready for this?

$150,000 volunteer firefighter stipend increase!!!!!

there you have it!!!

By: jeeperman

jeeperman — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 18:45:46 +0000

Okay so the knit pickers want it known that IP does not own the acreage it use to.
That is true IP still owns several thousand acres.
Large vacant timberlands are taxed at about $1.25 per acre. Paying about $30 per 600 acres if fire tax per year.
And when a brush fire is reported, it is the county that responds first and stays until no longer needed or the forest service shows up and maybe relieves them.

Either way, it is your property taxes and fire taxes paying to fight fires on hundreds of thousands of timber properties owned by large companies looking to real the profits growing there.

And when thousands of acres are owned by an outfit like The Nature Conservancy, they pay zero taxes of any sort and pay zero fire fees.
If it catches fire due to lightning, maybe we should let nature take it’s course and let it burn.

By: Retired

Retired — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 17:46:25 +0000

Does it have to be unanimous per Florida constitution now? I am beyond my patience with Escambia Service on the North End about another service with animal control and mosquito problem which are connected with standing water needing to be addressed with a feral cat population living over it. Phone calls have been to no avail SO FAR… But I am not done yet. As far as the volunteer fire fighters up here I am AMAZED and thankful for your service. Been here three years and property taxes raised three times with no service affecting me. I know I have to pay it and been paying attention to local politics. I still believe we have a voice if you contact the right person and know in your heart you are doing things for the better of yourself and the community. Things are not perfect and always relying on gov to solve problems is not a good way to be. As far as fires…prevent them!!! Check electricity, clean up, be careful…no Meth labs…The only fires should be acts of nature in most cases not carelessness.

By: Resident

Resident — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 16:30:19 +0000

>>District 5 currently has 3 career stations covering a portion with a soon to be fourth. Stations 6, 7 and 4 cover a portion of Comm Barry’s district.

Irrelevant to his argument. This is a new tax with no additional new coverage in District 5, and nothing done about Molino’s poor daytime response since most of their fine volunteers work during the day.

By: Coverage in Dist5

Coverage in Dist5 — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 15:35:53 +0000

District 5 currently has 3 career stations covering a portion with a soon to be fourth. Stations 6, 7 and 4 cover a portion of Comm Barry’s district.

By: Kate

Kate — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 12:50:44 +0000

Steve Barry is great!! He fights our battles for us, some times we win some times we lose. Like with the gas tax for the ECAT the one that doesn’t stop anywhere near where anyone lives. We have little use of the ECAT but pay a gas tax to cover for the downtowners. Why can’t the Commissioners charge the renters in apartment house the $25.00 and have it linked to the Gulf Power or the ECUA bills. There are ways to get this paid for other than charging us for things the City and South end uses..

By: William

William — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 03:52:53 +0000

>We are in the Bellview area and are wondering what constitutes a “No Response”?

The criteria actually was included with the report. Mostly like, it’s a station is paged and simply does not roll an apparatus before the dispatcher pages the next nearest station. So it really is a “no response”.