Fire station getting facelift
Tucked inside a tranquil golf community is Hernando County’s lone independent fire and rescue service.
The High Point Volunteer Fire Department has 44 volunteers who fight fires and provide basic emergency medical care across 4 square miles. Their average response time to any of the more than 1,600 homes in the community is 2.8 minutes, said Fire Chief Joe Curcio.
The volunteers serve about 3,000 people whose ages are 55 and older.
“We get good people to do what needs to be done here,” said Curcio, who had no background in fighting fires when he moved to High Point six years ago. Curcio didn’t like the idea of spending retirement confined to his home. He was drawn to emergency services and joined the department.
He said he saw a response to a fire along Sarah Street in late 2009 and decided the department needed more brawn.
He’s helped recruit the manpower. Nowadays, he sees his role more as an administrator and community liaison. He attends monthly social club meetings and keeps residents apprised of the department’s progress. He’s overseen much of it.
“I’ve grown the department double what it was,” Curcio said. “My responsibility is to make sure everything is kept up to date.”
Deputy Medical Chief Bob Kanner said Curcio has brought accountability and the right sense of priorities to the department.
“Eight to 10 years ago, this place didn’t keep up with the training,” he said. “People wanted titles.”
He and the other volunteers train every Monday night and every fourth Saturday, mostly on medical response. More than 90 percent of the department’s calls are medical in nature.
The department pays $1,500 twice a year to be part of the county’s 911 center. It performs welfare checks. Oftentimes someone from out of town will call the department directly and ask for someone to check on his or her mother, father, uncle or other relative. The volunteers regularly perform that service.
They also are trained to do basic patient assessment in addition to putting out structure fires.
Half of the medical calls made in High Point are basic medical calls. Advanced medical calls are handled by Hernando County Fire Rescue, but the volunteers are the first vital line of response.
High Point has two trucks – one is a foam truck and the other uses water. A retired Spring Hill Fire Rescue ambulance also is used by the department, but it transports fire and medical gear only – not patients.
The foam truck – a used diesel Ford F-550 – was purchased last year from West Virginia.
No more than two people are allowed on a truck at a time. Everyone else responds in his or her own vehicle. Insurance covers those who use civilian cars and trucks, Curcio said.
All drivers take the Emergency Vehicle Operating Course (EVOC) and all volunteers are required to undergo background checks.
Most of the volunteers live in High Point, but there are some, like Kanner, who live outside the subdivision.
All of the volunteers enjoy the closeness of the community. They do everything out in the open and the residents like seeing familiar faces responding to calls, Curcio said.
“This is a 17,000-bedroom house,” Curcio said of High Point. “That’s the way I look at it.”
The station, located at 8008 Baltic St., is about to get an overhaul. The original mobile home sits inside the bay building, which is more than three decades old.
Curcio said he hopes to begin renovations by the early part of the summer. The new building will include an office, bathrooms, more training space and a storage area.
High Point joins Hernando Beach as the only two communities with their own volunteer fire department. Hernando Beach, however, is directly affiliated with the county’s fire and rescue service. High Point remains private.
“We’re always thankful to our volunteer firefighters for what they do,” said Hernando County Fire Chief Mike Nickerson. “Those in High Point are providing a service their residents want and need.”
