Chief RL Colina from Monroe County Fire and Rescue joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s been going on in the county.
It’s still important to be vigilant during hurricane season.
Chief Colina said, “We’re continuously tracking, between emergency management and all the resources we have down here, we’re continuously tracking every, every possibility that comes off the coast there, where it’s forming, how it might impact us, or even neighboring areas. So everybody, just maintain your vigilance, stay tuned to what’s going on in the news. It’s never, never a bad idea just to get all your supplies ready, just so when that moment comes where, hey, we might have to start putting some precautions out there, you’re already ahead of the game. You have your backup supplies. You’ve got an exit strategy already set out and you’ve got your house in a condition. Because now during these times, when we get into this season, is a great time to have those the house around you, all your supplies. Make sure everything’s in preparation, that you can do a 30, 40 minute quick walk around, get everything locked up, secured, and you know that your property is going to be about as good as it can take without any debris flying around.”
National Night Out will be August 5.
Chief Colina said, “Key West PD, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Ramsay, they do an outstanding job of getting a lot of their equipment out there to kind of showcase what the county provides for its citizens. We’re fortunate. We help participate in there in supporting the blue there. We get out there, and we set up a booth with them as well. We’re part with the Trauma Star air program, so we’ll have our representatives in Marathon at the Trauma Star hangar, and we normally have our Deputy Fire Marshals up in Key Largo. So it’s just a great night to bring the family out, bring the kids out, just interact and see what’s out there, protecting you guys every day.”
Tunnel to Towers 5K will be August 8.
Chief Colina said, “Tunnel to Towers, the bombing of the Twin Towers, that was a life event for me. I was in the fire service when that occurred, and for most of generations we see now, it’s a history lesson. So I noticed that in our recruitment classes and stuff, when they’re like, yeah, I read about that in a book, or I read about that on the internet, and I’m like, wow, I’ve aged out a little bit here, but it is an amazing, amazing foundation Tunnel to Tower. It’s nationwide, and we host it at the Big Pine Community Park. So we look forward to a great turnout, like we always have, and just support of such a great cause nationwide.”
Monroe County Fire Rescue Lieutenant John Hamburger was recognized for 20 years of service to the citizens of Monroe County recently by the county commissioners. Lieutenant Frank Gonzalez was also recognized for 10 years of service.
Chief Colina said, “It’s always an honor to be part of that when you have a 10 year veteran here in Monroe County, just outstanding. They’ve been battle true here, and they’ve seen between the different storms and the preparations and all the work that gets done down here. Very proud to have them on our team and just pinnacle type officers for the development of our new firefighters that will test the generations moving forward. We were very, very grateful to be able to recognize them in front of the commissioners and have their families join them. It’s just one of the one of those great moments to be in my position to be part of that.”
Will the cutbacks affect Monroe County Fire Rescue?
Chief Colina said, “I will tell you, a lot of work has been put in by staff, our executive staff, our county staff, in just making sure that, are these the right moves to make at the right time? Are these essential items that we need to do? It’s one of those unfortunate decisions that had to be made. Regardless, we’re such a one unit, a team here in Monroe County that we feel it all over, regardless if it was directly one department or another department, especially when it comes in time of emergencies and times of catastrophic events, everyone would normally pull together. So we are a close family in Monroe County. I think we’re all looking at it and kind of feeling the effects of it. But the one thing we’ve got to do is, I wake up in the morning and I say, what is my job? My job is to protect the citizens of this county and we wake up and we do it, and we’ve got to keep moving forward and continue to be positive, and just know that these were not wanted measures. These were needed measures. Unfortunately, with the condition of the state, and just Countrywide, nationwide, everyone’s been feeling the effects of the inflation and everything else that we’ve been going through. So as unfortunate as they are, we’ve got to keep moving forward, be positive, and just let the citizens know that there is no decrease of protection, there’s no decrease in safety on any of those measures. They need us, we’re always there.”
July 4 when off without any major hitches.
Chief Colina said, “I’ll tell you, with the number of people we had visiting the county, everything I could say, went off without a bang, but we had a lot of those going on in the county. But definitely, we thank everybody for heeding the precautions and making safety first for them and their families. It has been a nice transition to closing out this summer. We’ve got mini season coming up. So that’s a heightened period for all of us in Monroe County Fire Rescue, the sheriffs and wildlife, everybody is, we look forward to people coming down here to enjoy themselves, but more so, we want you to be able to return with great memories. We don’t want you to come down here and think of this place in a negative way because of an ill mistake that you made. Monroe County Fire Rescue, the men and women are what make this department. I’m super proud to be here in the position. I am making sure that they have everything they need to perform those jobs out there on the streets. We’re here for you guys. Anything you need, anything we can do, we’re always available and just extremely proud to serve this community.”
For more information, click here: https://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/firerescue