At a long-awaited workshop this afternoon Flagler County responded to Palm Coast’s pressing for a new way to deliver ambulance services, but by countering with a proposal the city is not likely to approve in any way.
Fire House
Flagler’s Emergency Operations Center at 10 Years: A Few Fires, 5 Managers, Zero Hurricanes
The Emergency Operations Center was part of a $90 million public building spree at the height of the housing boom, just before it all crashed. The center has yet to know its first hurricane emergency, though it’s helped the county through several fire and major storm emergencies.
County Commission Retreats From Joint Meeting With Palm Coast Council on EMS
After appearing ready to meet with Palm Coast, county commissioners now say that between election turn-over and the absence of a crisis, there’s no need to meet over ambulance issues.
County Takes Dim, Caustic View of Palm Coast’s “Efficiency” Push in Ambulance Services
County commissioners say if Palm Coast wants to make services more efficient, it’s the city’s problem, not theirs. But they’ve agreed to hold a joint meeting in May to discuss possibilities.
Palm Coast Floats New Rescue System in Name Of “Efficiency,” But County Sees Many Flaws
No one is complaining about ambulance service in Palm Coast, but the city council is favoring changing the system by adding two county ambulances and spreading manpower around. The county, which runs EMS, says the plan is costly and unnecessary.
FPC Will Launch a Firefighter-EMT Academy, Filling a Recruiting Gap for Fire Departments
The Fire Leadership Academy is designed to appeal to students who may be losing interest in school while giving the county’s and cities’ fire departments a reliable recruiting ground of new firefighter-EMTs.
Jon Moscowitz Named Sons of the American Revolution’s Firefighter of the Year
Moscowitz, 28, has been a firefighter-paramedic in Flagler County for 9 years. Only a few weeks ago he’d also been named public safety EMS professional of the year by his peers.
Palm Coast Deputy Fire Chief Jerry Forte In Dramatic Rescue of Drowning Man
Palm Coast Deputy Fire Chief Jerry Forte was in the W-Section when the drowning of a 71-year-old resident on Whispering Pine Drive was called in. He rushed to the scene and pulled the man out of the pool.
Celebrated Emergency Services Chief Kevin Guthrie Resigns, Jolting Commissioners
Kevin Guthrie headed the county’s emergency services division since late 2013 to mostly rave reviews, but frustrations with the county administration may have led to his decision to leave.
Flagler Beach’s Lt. Cox, Among 10 Winners, Is Countywide Public Safety Person of the Year
Aside from Cox’s top award, winners included the Sheriff’s Senior Cmdr. Mark Carman, Flagler County Fire Rescue’s Jon Moscowitz and Bob Pickering of Emergency Management.
Controversy Long Over, Flagler Beach Finally Gets Its $568,000 “Quint” Fire Truck
The truck purchase inflamed many a confrontation among Flagler Beach city commissioners and embroiled the city’s fire department in a nearly year-long battle to secure it.
Fire Demolishes Family Home in Western Flagler After French Fries Are Left Unattended
A house belonging to Caprice and Stephan Williams and their two teen-age sons at 5881 Logwood Lane in Bunnell was consumed by flames Saturday after Caprice briefly left the stove unattended to help a neighbor.
Five New Flagler County Fire Rescue Firefighters Complete Orientation as Department Grows
New firefighters – Thomas Cope, Cory Sattar, Michael Beaulieu and Andy Thomas, all hired in December, along with Marianne Huston, who was hired in September – were put through their paces last week, the first full week of the new year.
Sudden Resignation of Flagler Beach Firefighter Follows Allegations of “Unauthorized Absences”
Clint Dixon, a firefighter for the past three years, resigned “for personal reasons” after confirming to his fire chief that he’d left his post a couple of times.
Miller Clayton, 7, Honored By County, City and State for Life-Saving Bravery in House Fire
Miller Clayton took his little brother to safety out of their burning home on Kentucky Avenue in November. The awards were from the county and city firefighters unions and State CFO Jeff Atwater’s offce.
Special Treatment for Firefighters With Cancer? Florida Among Few States That Say No
Florida lawmakers have introduced bills that would make Florida the 34th state to offer special protection to firefighters, but the measure faces obstacles in large part because of local governments’ opposition.
County’s Coffey Calls Some of Palm Coast’s EMS Claims “Garbage” In Broad Rebuke
Responding to Palm Coast’s claim two weeks ago that EMS service can be more efficient and responsive, County Administrator Craig Coffey today rejected the city’s analysis, saying it would end up costing taxpayers a lot more.
Kevin Clayton’s Death in Friday’s
West Flagler Fire Is Ruled a Suicide
A medical examiner’s autopsy confirmed that Kevin Clayton’s death in a Nov. 28 fire at 40 Kentucky Avenue in western Flagler County was a suicide. No foul play is suspected.
Palm Coast Wants Changes to County-Controlled Ambulance Services in the City
The city wants to reduce the need for fire trucks and ambulances doubling up on EMS calls, and to lower overall costs. The county has its own ideas. The two sides will meet administratively to hash out possibilities.
1-Acre Brush Fire Off SR 100 Mobilizes Division of Forestry and Flagler Fire Flight
A 1-acre brush fire broke out just after 4 this afternoon in an area difficult to reach for firefighters, just south of the Winn Dixie shopping center on State Road 100, and some 75 feet eastt of I-95.
Flagler Fire Rescue Join Florida National Guard at Camp Blanding Search and Rescue Training
The 7th annual exercise, dubbed “Operation Integration,” involved statewide deployment of urban search and rescue teams with the Guard’s 83rd Troop Command.
Flagler’s Push For Trio of Cell Towers Rising Higher Than Statue of Liberty Beams Alarms
Flagler County Emergency Services wants the three towers, including an especially controversial one on John Anderson Highway in Flagler Beach, to improve its communications network, but residents and environmentalists are raising questions.
For Fire Chief Don Petito, a Family Matter Escalates Into Confrontations and Complaints
Don Petito was seeking to help his father move out of a house when a deputy forbade either to enter the house, causing the fire chief to become “very animated,” in his own words.
Palm Coast’s $2 Million Training Facility: Old Buildings Turned Over to Firefighters Before Demolition
Properties on Bulldog Drive the city acquired for $2 million are the scenes of firefighter training for the Palm Coast Fire Department this week before the buildings are demolished and the properties placed on the market for commercial developers.
Report on Active-Shooter Exercise at FPC Points to Serious Flaws in Command, Communications and Cooperation
The unvarnished after-action report paints a troubling picture of sheriff’s and fire rescue operations that worked poorly as a coordinated, cooperative and unified response, though they worked well in their individual parts.
What Flagler Beach Got Wrong About “Crowd Managers,” and What the Auditorium Got Right
Flagler Beach City Commissioner Kim Carney misinterpreted and exaggerated a fire code about “crowd managers” to her colleagues. The code does not require such managers at First Friday events, as she suggested.
Flagler’s Fire Flight and Crews Save 2 Homes Surrounded By Brush Fire in Eagle Rock
A 3.5-acre brush fire that had surrounded two homes in Eagle Rock at the south end of the county, requiring their evacuation, was halted and controlled, capping a busy day for Flagler Count Fire Rescue crews and Fire Flight, the county’s emergency helicopter.
Arson Suspected in Mondex Fire That Demolishes Family Home on Elder Street
Authorities termed suspicious a fire that engulfed a single-family house in the Mondex Friday morning, and brought in arson dogs to sniff for evidence of fuel or accelerants used in the blaze.
In Theoretical Mass Shooting at FPC, a Mass Exercise to Evaluate Vulnerabilities
A man denied custody of his children decides to take his rage out on FPC students in a shooting rampage: that was the scenario around which some 200 responders and volunteer actors recreated an emergency response this morning in a two-hour training exercise at the school.
Palm Coast Bragging Rights: City’s Fire Protection Rating Vaults to Near Highest
Palm Coast’s fire-protection ISO rating improves from 4 to 2, topping the county and yielding likely cheaper property insurance rates for commercial and residential property owners.
Flagler Firefighters Have Current Contract For 1st Time in 4 Years, With Some Pay Hikes
The firefighters’ union’s first contract since 2011 gives firefighters with more experience more money. For nine years, firefighters were hired at the same rate of pay as existing firefighters with many more years of service.
In LL-Section Fire, Puppy Rescue Gets All the Attention as a Father of 6 Struggles in ICU
Tuesday’s fire in the LL-Section left a 37-year-old father of 6 in the ICU since and split his children to relatives’ homes, but all the attention–and an award–has gone to firefighters’ rescue of two puppies and four older dogs.
2 Hospitalized, 6 Dogs Rescued From House Fire in Palm Coast’s LL Section
A father and his young daughter, about 5 years old, were hospitalized for smoke inhalation this morning after a fire in the garage at 6 Llach Court in Palm Coast inundated the house with smoke, but was contained before spreading further.
As Mom Struggles to Recover From Burns, Community Rallies Around a Family Made Homeless
As Jessica Johnson, mom to three young children, remains in intensive care, Flagler Beach has rallied around her family to raise money and collect furniture and toys.
Afternoon Brush Fire That Smoked Up Palm Coast’s P-Section and I-95 Is Mopped Up
A brush fire in an isolated strip of woods between I-95 and Palm Coast’s P-Section kicked off a lot of smoke and burned a 2-acre area but never threatened homes and by sundown had been all but mopped up.
Early Morning Flagler Beach Fire Levels One House, Guts Another, 5 Hospitalized, 2 Critical
Last Updated: 12:23 p.m. A fire that started around 2 this morning in a wooden house built on stilts at 208 Ocean Palm Drive leveled the house and spread to the house next door at 210, gutting it. The five occupants of the wooden house managed to get out but were all hospitalized, two of […]
Palm Coast Mayor Rips Waste of County’s EMS Service and Says Do It All Or Pay the City
Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts doesn’t question the quality of emergency services but considers them wastefully duplicative, and wants to see the city’s and county’s approach change.
10-Year-Old Palm Coast Girl Charged With Criminal Mischief After Starting Garage Fire
The fire and damage at 2 Blaine Court in Palm Coast could have been far worse than it turned out, as the girl had been playing with matches next to a container of gasoline.
Citing Taxes, Palm Coast Says County Owes City a Fire Truck to Help Mend Aging Fleet
The council heard an unusual proposal from council member Jason DeLorenzo that would reopen old wounds with the county as Palm Coast looks to simultaneously replace three fire engines that have more than 30 years’ service.
Flagler’s 911 Call Center Briefly Evacuated When Exit Sign Causes Minor Fire
911 service was never interrupted, officials said at the scene, as three dispatchers were sent to the center’s back-up operation at the Sheriff’s Office Operation Center on Justice Lane.
Remembrance Rescue Project’s 9/11 Memorial Firetruck in Palm Coast This Week
The Remembrance Rescue Project combines the parts of two firetrucks that were at Ground Zero the day of the attacks on the Twin Towers in Manhattan.
Palm Coast Fire Department Unveils New $360,000 Truck and Logo on Jan. 27
The public can see Palm Coast’s new fire truck and its new logo on Jan. 27 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the City Marketplace parking lot.
At Imagine School, Fire Inspection Is Cause For Caution, But “Just For Next Couple Of Weeks”
Palm Coast’s fire chief is incensed by the deception of a cautionary email to school staff this week that warns of a coming fire inspection, but also suggests that problem items must be removed or rearranged only “until after the inspection.”
In Mass-Casualty Simulation, Flagler First Responders and Hospital Test Capabilities
The simulation entailed a plane crash at the county airport and more than two dozen injuries as fuel and debris struck Hijackers’ Restaurant. The exercise unfolded in front of Florida Hospital Flagler’s Emergency Room.
Flagler Beach Settles With Ex-Flagler Beach Firefighters, Retracting Firing and Paying $80,000 to Each
Ex-Flagler Beach firefighters Jake Bissonnette and Shane Wood wrote resignation letters to replace their firing orders, but they will not be returning to work for the fire department.
Man Dies in Early-Morning Fire
On Westmayer Place in Flagler Beach
The double-wide trailer on Westmayer Place, a dirt road off of A1A at the north end of town, was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived at the scene. It was the first death in a house fire in Flagler County since an elderly woman died at her home in Palm Coast almost two years ago.
Case Closed: Flagler Beach Commission Votes 4-1 to Buy $600,000 “Quint” Fire Truck
There was debating, pleading, occasional shouting and plenty of sniping, but in the end a conclusion foretold months ago was ratified with a 4-1 vote as the Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday night opted to buy a nearly $600,000 fire truck called a “quint.”
Sgt. Frank Celico’s Name Added to Memorial In 9/11 Commemoration at Heroes Park
During the early morning ceremony at Heroes Park, Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts spoke of the Callery pear tree that survived the attacks of 9/11 at Ground Zero and has come to symbolize resilience and rebirth at the site.
Flagler Fire Rescue Rolls Out Two, $219,000 Ambulances, Workhorses of Local Emergencies
The county has seven ambulances on duty 24 hours a day (11 units in all) that each log 5,000 miles and 1,000 calls a month, by far the majority of the 14,000 annual emergency calls in Flagler.
Palm Coast Council, in 4-0 Vote, Sides With Its Manager Against Firefighters Union in Contract Dispute
The Palm Coast City Council sided with its Manager Jim Landon’s recommendation to reject union positions on a collective bargaining agreement in contention for three years.