MELBOURNE BEACH, Fla. – More than 200 fire departments in Florida use volunteers, but now, one of those local VFDs says it needs to bring on some firefighters who get paid.
Melbourne Beach brought forth the proposal Wednesday night at a town commission meeting.
In 1953, six people became the town’s first volunteer firefighters.
In the last 72 years, everyone who’s volunteered has their name on a wall at the fire station.
The only firefighter who gets paid is Chief Gavin Brown.
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The fire department said it wants six paid firefighters to help out its 35 volunteers.
It said, these days, it’s harder than ever to run a volunteer fire department considering regulations, cost of equipment, and the cost of living.
The fire department said with an all-volunteer fire department, it takes an extra five or six minutes to get to emergency calls.
20-year resident Barbara Koontz said paying some firefighters is needed.
“Melbourne Beach has grown, especially, these last couple years, and there’s a lot of people,” Koontz said. “They need to make sure they’re covered.”
When News 6 reporter James Sparvero asked Koontz how she would feel about paying more taxes, she answered, “Paying more taxes is better than losing your house from fire.”
No final decision is expected to be made at Wednesday night’s meeting.
Stick with News 6 and ClickOrlando.com as this story develops.
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