FL:Tarpon fire chief seeks 15 more firefighters and gets one

Tarpon fire chief seeks 15 more firefighters and gets one
By Rita Farlow, Times Staff Writer
In print: Thursday, September 4, 2008


TARPON SPRINGS — During a recent budget workshop, fire Chief Stephen R.M. Moreno told city commissioners it would take an additional 15 firefighters to bring the city's department up to the recommended staffing level.

On Tuesday, they gave him one.

The board agreed to open a frozen position, which will bring the number of firefighter/EMTs to 33, or 11 per shift, without factoring in vacations and sick time.

Members also okayed overtime pay to add another firefighter on each shift during periods of peak activity.

The decision is a move in the right direction, said Moreno, who took over the department's top post late in 2005.

"It is a 25-year-old problem and you can't solve it overnight," Moreno said.

The Fire Department has had the same number of firefighters since 1983, Moreno said.

Since then, the population has grown by 60 percent and calls for service have more than quintupled from 800 in 1983 to 4,000 last year.
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