Bloomingdale Volunteer Firefighters' Role Changes Under Plan
While there will still be a place for volunteers in Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, their roles will change dramatically under a proposal that calls for adding 78 new career positions at a cost of $5.2 million.
Volunteer fire departments may be a thing of the past in Hillsborough County. A proposal that goes before the Hillsborough County Commission today, Nov. 15, calls for discontinuing “the use of volunteers to staff primary apparatus at the remaining volunteer stations,” including the Bloomingdale Volunteer Fire Department, 4705 Bloomingdale Ave., Valrico, according to a report from Hillsborough County Fire Rescue. That plan also calls on the commission to agree to a budget amendment of $5.24 million to hire 78 new career firefighters to staff the county’s six volunteer fire departments. The proposal also outlines the creation of a Reserve Responder Program that would enable some volunteers to continue to be of service to their communities. …
