CONGRATULATIONS! The drawing was held for the Ultimate Football Package - the winning ticket was number 438579 - Ticket holder - Colleen Smith! She receives a 40" Flat Screen Smart LED TV, an xBox 360, Madden 2012, and a case of beer! All proceeds from the raffle benefited the Lake County Firefighters Toy Drive. Thank you to everyone that helped support our cause. Read More...
Lake County Fire Rescue personnel don pink for women's cancers
By JESSICA SHUMAKER
DAILY SUN
LADY LAKE — If you've seen Lake County firefighters out and about this month, chances are you've noticed their new bright apparel.
At the beginning of the month, Lake County Fire Rescue personnel rolled out a cancer awareness campaign and fundraiser involving pink shirts. Read More...
Lake County Fire Rescue has been approved to wear our specially made pink uniform shirts (pictured) for the month of October. We are providing 2 shirts to every Local 3990 member. Additional shirts are available for sale on our facebook page and from the local. All proceeds from the shirts will be going to support a local female cancer support charity in Lake County. Read More...
Here is a video clip of Jim Judge (Lake EMS) proposing to Lake County Commissioners to cut the field staff and reduce ambulances in the field (July 12, 2011 BOCC Workshop). Lake County will only have 11 ambulances at night to cover 1,100 square miles. Lake County currently has 17 ambulances 24 hours a day, with 5 additional "day" trucks. This proposal cut's Paramedic positions by 46% and EMT positions by 37%. 3 administrative positions are being eliminated, and 7 being "moved" under field operations. Support Fire Based EMS by contacting your county commissioners at 352-343-9850 or use our link on the main page to email each one of them. Fire Based EMS will free up money to put more full time ambulances on the road. Read More... Download: Board Meeting Live Feed2 Cutting of Field Personnel.flv
Due to the recent change in Sumter County with their EMS transports, Lake County has to revise the ambulance system (Sumter County Commissioners voted to oust Lake Sumter EMS by a vote of 5 to 0). In almost every county surrounding Lake County, and across the nation, the Fire Rescue division has taken over the ambulance service. By moving under the Fire Rescue division, millions of dollars are freed up to put more ambulances on the road. Most of these ambulances will be staffed with dual certified firefighter EMTS & firefighter medics. All of Lake County Fire Rescue's field personnel are already certified EMTS & Paramedics, as well as being firefighters. You receive more for your money when you cross train like this. In addition, the current EMS system has a high number of highly paid administrative positions. By eliminating this duplication of administration, and allowing the qualified fire chiefs to run the EMS system, millions of dollars are freed up to put more ambulances on the road with certified people. Why pay a bunch of paramedics a high salary to sit in an office, and cut ambulances off the road?
The current proposal by Jim Judge and Lake EMS will reduce the number of full time ambulances at night to only 11 ambulances. They are cutting 46% of the field medics positions and 37% of the field EMT positions, and only 3 administrative positions (Lake EMS proposal LCBOCC Meeting July 12, 2011) Lake County currently has 17 full time ambulances with 5 additional "day trucks". This irresponsible management of transports and budget is going to make Lake County citizens suffer and experience a huge service cut! While we don't want to see anyone laid off in Lake County, if lay off's must occur, they should be from non emergent duplicated administrative positions, not field workers running emergency calls.
Lake County Fire Rescue has a lean administration and have been great stewards of the tax dollars allocated to the department. Let them manage the ambulances too and the citizens of Lake County will reap a variety of benefits from this change.
Presently, these local surrounding fire departments use "fire based" EMS transports: Orange County, Orlando Fire, Seminole County, Polk County, Osceola County, Volusia County, Brevard County, Sanford Fire, Marion County Fire, Alachua County Fire, and many more. Why? Because it makes sense and saves money! Please take a minute to send this email below to your county commissioners urging them to go to fire based EMS!
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Board Meeting Live Feed2 Cutting of Field Personnel.flv
