Lake County vehicles hit hard at gas pump

Do you cringe at the rising cost of gas? Try paying $250 just to fill the gas tank of Lake County Fire-Rescue's hulking, 40-foot-long tower firetruck that gulps fuel at a whopping four miles to the gallon.

[Lynn Williams]

I can just imagine that the first one to complain about the 'wasted' money being used by the emergency vehicles would be the first to raise hell when the police, fire truck, or ambulance took an extra second to get to their home when called!

[Old Timer]

Maybe if when you call EMS they didn't sent a giant fire truck too it would save some money. Why DOES the fire truck come along with EMS anyway? Sure would like to know. If there's no fire, why the truck?

[Don T Care]

Because someone who is having a medical emergency shouldn't be without any help for 10-15 minutes while they wait for the transport unit. There is a paramedic or at the very least an EMT, on every single fire truck. The ambulance is a transport unit only. The fire department gets to the scene way before EMS does and is able to provide emergency care until the transport unit arrives.

[Irvin]

The county needs to take over the fire services of these smaller communities like Eustis, Umatilla, Tavares, and Clermont. The small towns have no fires and the medical calls can be handled by the county amubulance service which does it now. I get tired of seeing the fire pumper and ambulance for a minor emergency.
The citizens could save a bundle and not affect service.

[mosco]

Yo Don T Care: EMS is in bed with fire service. Nationally a couple of decades ago fires declined. Fire departments combined with EMS services to keep their numbers high. Many departments had EMS as part of their program before the combination took place. But after that the First Responder Program was given birth. With the hiring of women mandated this also guaranteed that any medical run needing strength would have people available to do the job. The only problem is with the salaries and benefits being high today, the maintenance on apparatus being expensive, the people who call 911 for a medical trip to the hospital expecting top shelf service at the hospital due to an EMS carry due to triage and the law clamping down on people taking their own relatives to the hospital as driving safety concerns, the cost of fire service is becoming prohibitive. At some point the people will start ranting...game over! Transporting someone a couple of miles should not cost a kings ransom. Lets see..Asia...building manufacturing...America...buil ding people with uniforms.....more and more uniforms....uniforms....Lenin, Stalin,Hitler, Mao...The Golden Hour is now just Gold!

[whatawaste]

In my particular city, Tavares, the ambulance many times arrives before any fire truck. The fire truck has no paramedics on it anyway. Big waste of gas. I see the firetruck at the grocery store or eating breakfast more often than on fire calls.

[Jabal]

whatawaste wrote:

In my particular city, Tavares, the ambulance many times arrives before any fire truck. The fire truck has no paramedics on it anyway. Big waste of gas. I see the firetruck at the grocery store or eating breakfast more often than on fire calls.

You don't read about fires in Tavares. Isn't it a suburb of Mt. Dora?

[Old Timer]

Don T Care wrote:

Because someone who is having a medical emergency shouldn't be without any help for 10-15 minutes while they wait for the transport unit. There is a paramedic or at the very least an EMT, on every single fire truck. The ambulance is a transport unit only. The fire department gets to the scene way before EMS does and is able to provide emergency care until the transport unit arrives.

Thank you. I didn't know. I stand corrected. Now I understand.

[joey]

Do you know how boring its is sitting around the fire house all day, with nothing to do? How much TV or sleep can you have an one day.They should have two rates of pay one for when their fighting fires,an one for when there sitting around doing nothing.

[BMF]

Are you serious about saving gas? Are you really? There is a simple solution and a way to save millions of gallons a day. Close the Mouse and send the yanks home.

[Daretell]

The purpose of government is to provide police,EMS,fire protection, water and sanitary service unless you happen to be on septic tanks and have your own water well.
Everything else is fluff. Everything. Including the county manager position.Including the salaries paid to county commissioners. Government does nothing except take your money.Don't cut what is necessary. Cut out the crap.

[David Block]

joey wrote:

Do you know how boring its is sitting around the fire house all day, with nothing to do? How much TV or sleep can you have an one day.They should have two rates of pay one for when their fighting fires,an one for when there sitting around doing nothing.

I guess you have not done your research on what Professional Firefighters do on a day to day basis. Other than responding to emergency calls, they perform Public Education, Business Inspections, and we even make house calls changing smoke detector batteries. Along with that, they are constantly cleaning their Firehouses, Detailing the Trucks the taxpayers own and training throughout the day. Most Fire Departments do not allow the Firefighters to watch TV or take naps during business hours, which is 0800-1700. I am sure you are one the average citizens that hunt out firefighters at stores and demand to know why they are getting food and not sitting at the station. I will agree with you there is down time, but I can promise you that at least once during a Firefighters shift he works harder in one hour than you do in 40 hours at your job.
I am sure that you would forget about your ignorant comment very quickly if you called 911 at 3 am. But then again, I am sure you would not be thankful, you would be pissed that a much closer Fire Truck with equally trained professionals as the ambulance (by the way the ambulance that is 10 minutes farther away from the fire station) showed up to your house before the ambulance.
Why don’t you do yourself a favor. Visit your local Firehouse observe what your Local Firefighters are doing and ask questions. Until then do not make up over blown observations on what a Firefighters do on a day to day basis.

[Johnny Taylor]

Save Tax Payers Money!! Consolidate Lake Sumter Ambulance and All the City Fire Departments with Lake County

[whatawaste]

David Block wrote:

<quoted text>
I guess you have not done your research on what Professional Firefighters do on a day to day basis. Other than responding to emergency calls, they perform Public Education, Business Inspections, and we even make house calls changing smoke detector batteries. Along with that, they are constantly cleaning their Firehouses, Detailing the Trucks the taxpayers own and training throughout the day. Most Fire Departments do not allow the Firefighters to watch TV or take naps during business hours, which is 0800-1700. I am sure you are one the average citizens that hunt out firefighters at stores and demand to know why they are getting food and not sitting at the station. I will agree with you there is down time, but I can promise you that at least once during a Firefighters shift he works harder in one hour than you do in 40 hours at your job.
I am sure that you would forget about your ignorant comment very quickly if you called 911 at 3 am. But then again, I am sure you would not be thankful, you would be pissed that a much closer Fire Truck with equally trained professionals as the ambulance (by the way the ambulance that is 10 minutes farther away from the fire station) showed up to your house before the ambulance.
Why don’t you do yourself a favor. Visit your local Firehouse observe what your Local Firefighters are doing and ask questions. Until then do not make up over blown observations on what a Firefighters do on a day to day basis.

You've got to be kidding me ! You've obviously been brainwashed by one of your neighbor Firefighters. In metro departments they do have constant activity. In the small cities in Lake County a majority of their day is spent watching TV or sleeping. The 24 hour shift is one of the best kept secrets alive. I went to the Tavares Fire station at 10 am and had to wake up the crew to answer the door for me to get directions. Two Fire-men never got up from their recliners to try to help. In Lake County's instance I agree with the previous post to consolidate and save some of my taxpayer money,

[David Block]

whatawaste wrote:

<quoted text>
You've got to be kidding me ! You've obviously been brainwashed by one of your neighbor Firefighters. In metro departments they do have constant activity. In the small cities in Lake County a majority of their day is spent watching TV or sleeping. The 24 hour shift is one of the best kept secrets alive. I went to the Tavares Fire station at 10 am and had to wake up the crew to answer the door for me to get directions. Two Fire-men never got up from their recliners to try to help. In Lake County's instance I agree with the previous post to consolidate and save some of my taxpayer money,

You speak like you were once a Firefighter. If so, why are you so Bitter? I'm sorry I do not believe you story about Tavares Fire. If so you would have made any issue of it with the city. Better yet, you probably would have called the media to tell. I was not brainwashed by any neighbor Firefighters. I am a Retired Firefighter. A Professional. I am disgusted that you are attacking a Very Proud and Long Running Profession. It is too bad that you can not respect the fact that a complete stranger is willing to give his life for you. So what, someone might be napping or watching TV. We work 24 hour shifts, it is not a guarantee that we will get to sleep all night. God Bless you. Instead of hating this great profession, why don’t you start respecting it.

[David Block]

whatawaste atr you a cop or an ambulance driver????

[joey]

David Block wrote:

whatawaste atr you a cop or an ambulance driver????

David David Every time I went to a fire house they were sitting around watching TV or washing there car.So I believe there should be two rates,one when there on a Fire call,and a lower when there sitting around 90% of the time. That would make me Joe taxpaper a lot happier.

[Sylvia]

David Block wrote:

<quoted text>
You speak like you were once a Firefighter. If so, why are you so Bitter? I'm sorry I do not believe you story about Tavares Fire. If so you would have made any issue of it with the city. Better yet, you probably would have called the media to tell. I was not brainwashed by any neighbor Firefighters. I am a Retired Firefighter. A Professional. I am disgusted that you are attacking a Very Proud and Long Running Profession. It is too bad that you can not respect the fact that a complete stranger is willing to give his life for you. So what, someone might be napping or watching TV. We work 24 hour shifts, it is not a guarantee that we will get to sleep all night. God Bless you. Instead of hating this great profession, why don’t you start respecting it.

If Tavares is the brick fire station by the railroad tracks, I had a similar experience. My Dad and I stopped by to find his doctor's office and had to ring the doorbell forever. Someone finally let us in and there were two sitting in easy chairs, with the lights way down(at 2 in the afternoon). We did get directions, but the young man helping us seemed to be very put upon that we stopped.
It seems that you paint every fireman as a hero and attack anyone who finds that some of your profession act in a less than professional manner.
I would guess that a good way to prove your point, would be to make public, a study of your fire station or another small one and see how much time you actually do(or did) spend going on your emergency calls, etc.
I'm willing to bet that the 24 hour shift with two days off is more of a benefit to you than a liability.
As my Rabbi used to say:
Get off the cross, we need the wood!

[whatawaste]

David Block wrote:

<quoted text>
You speak like you were once a Firefighter. If so, why are you so Bitter? I'm sorry I do not believe you story about Tavares Fire. If so you would have made any issue of it with the city. Better yet, you probably would have called the media to tell. I was not brainwashed by any neighbor Firefighters. I am a Retired Firefighter. A Professional. I am disgusted that you are attacking a Very Proud and Long Running Profession. It is too bad that you can not respect the fact that a complete stranger is willing to give his life for you. So what, someone might be napping or watching TV. We work 24 hour shifts, it is not a guarantee that we will get to sleep all night. God Bless you. Instead of hating this great profession, why don’t you start respecting it.

Quite the contrary.....I have the utmost respect for Firemen... working in large cities or counties. The guys and gals that actually do work hard and risk their lives for others. I take exception to many of the small town departments of which are located in my area that try to portray themselves as equivenents, when due to their lack of real experience and training, aren't much more effective than a group of volunteers. I would suggest 8 hour shifts to be more economical and make the focus on these areas more on ambulance service than the waste on non-existant fire calls.

[Earl Harris]

I think David Block has it right. Fire departments should take over the EMS service.