County talks county-wide fire rescue services

CM WALKER/Alachua County Today

Town of LaCrosse Fire Chief Paul McDavid speaks about fire rescue services at the joint Alachua County and Town of Lacrosse meeting.

LACROSSE – Alachua County is considering taking over fire/rescue services throughout the county and may institute a fire services assessment to help pay for it.

Following a joint meeting between the Town Council in the Town of LaCrosse and the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) Monday night, it appears likely that the county will soon be asked to vote to take over fire/rescue services throughout Alachua County.

The only exception pointed out at the meeting would be the City of Gainesville, which in the past has declined to combine forces.

The option is under consideration due to the recent notification by Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) that each fire/rescue station must have four trained fire fighters at each structure fire.

While Alachua County can easily produce the number of trained personnel at a structure fire, the Town of LaCrosse and many other small municipalities cannot afford the cost of the additional staff.

The Town of LaCrosse recently raised its millage rate by three points to increase revenues to keep its station in operation.

“We dug deep into our reserves to also pay for needed equipment and a new roof on our fire station,” said Laura Ling, the town's financial officer.

Even if the town raised its millage rate to the maximum rate of 10, taxpayers in the 1.5-sq.-mile town still could not generate enough money to pay for the additional cost of a fourth person on duty 24/7.

Although using volunteer firefighters was discussed, several negative issues concerning the town's ability to attract volunteers were brought up.

Many LaCrosse residents work in Gainesville, which is 15 miles away. “Many volunteers could not be counted on to be able to leave their jobs and show up at a structure fire within a reasonable period of time,” said LaCrosse Fire Chief Paul McDavid.

He also noted that several of his current paid firefighters had to travel from other towns to work for his fire department. “We have paid firefighters who live in St. Augustine, Crystal River and Jacksonville. It's not that easy to get volunteers in the local area,” he said.

Without that fourth firefighter, the town's ISO rating would go to 10. “At that level, some insurance companies may not write an insurance policy at all. If they do, it will be at a very high cost to the property owner,” said McDavid.

However, Alachua County's ISO rating is three. If the county took over serving the 82-sq.-mile area that LaCrosse currently covers, insurance rates would drop for properties within five miles of the fire station.

“I think having the county provide fire/rescue services would be a real benefit to the people within District 22,” said McDavid. “Our citizens would have advanced life support, which we currently can't provide. I realize I am supporting the very thing that will put me out of a job, but my concern is for the well being of the people in this community, not my job."

During a short presentation earlier in the evening, Alachua County Fire Chief Bill Northcutt explained that the county's Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MSTU) assessment was put in place for the short term to allow the county time to determine how much fire services cost and how to pay for them. “If we did that study now, we might be able to implement a fire services assessment for everyone in the county, thereby reducing the MSTU assessment. In addition, many of our citizens would enjoy a reduction in their insurance rates.”

Although the county has previously discussed placing a fire station closer to Alachua’s Turkey Creek subdivision, Northcutt said, “That's a problem for the City of Alachua.” He contended that LaCrosse is the place to put a new station if the BOCC decides to take over providing the service.

“The cost to build and staff a new fire station is estimated to be more than $800,000,” said Northcutt.

The next BOCC meeting to discuss fire services is scheduled for May 10.

#     #     #

Email Cwalker@

alachuatoday.com