Letter to the Editor
Midway Fire District offers residents peace of mind

I am writing in response to Mr. Biff Wheeler's letter in

the Nov. 1] opinion section. Unfortunately, Mr. Wheeler does not have his facts straight. His comparison of fire service in North Santa Rosa County to Midway Fire District is like comparing apples and oranges.

First of all, the numbers of calls to Midway Fire district are much higher due to a substantial population increase over the years.

He also fails to tell the readers that there are many times when calls for service in North Santa Rosa go unanswered due to only having volunteers who are not always available.

Then there are the levels of training differences: Midway has state certified professional firefighters. Many of the volunteer departments in the area lack state certified personnel. Midway has cross-trained paramedics. No volunteer service offers that level of training in Florida. Midway has an average response time of 4.5 minutes. The volunteer departments have substantially longer response times.

While you are comparing, compare the cost of homeowner's insurance in North Santa Rosa County where the ISO rating is as high as a nine compared to Midway's ISO of five. Another difference is that Midway is trying to meet national standards for staffing on emergency scenes. Yes, there are a specific number of qualified personnel for specific types of emergencies. Midway currently does not meet this standard. So in reality, Midway is not a Mercedes, not a Ford, but an example of a low cost professional fire emergency services operation especially when you compare it to other professional fire departments in the state or nationwide.

The travesty is not Midway's costs. It is that the rest of the county lacks sufficient funding when it comes to providing emergency services. If you want to compare costs, look at other professional fire service organizations such as Okaloosa Island Fire District or Ocean City Wright Fire District. I think you would be surprised at what their millage rate is compared to Midway's. The real question, Mr. Wheeler, is what price do you put on lives and the quality of life in this area? Is it worth it to you to have peace of mind knowing that during an emergency you will have qualified and well-trained professionals to take care of you in a timely manner… all for the cost of less than $1 a day? You and the voters of Midway decide sir. We are simply the professionals who provide the service.

I ask you to also keep in mind that the service you receive in Midway from our highly trained professionals is provided to you because we care. There is no one getting rich that works for Midway Fire District. In fact, our personnel fall into the lower median range in terms of salary and benefits. What is different is that, unlike some paid fire departments, our personnel deliver value-added service to the community. This requires more training, more effort and more dedication. So, before you criticize those who get up at 3 a.m. to extricate a trapped person out of a car wreck on Highway 98 or pull sleeping citizens out of a house fire, I ask you to consider how your comments make them feel. You are correct in one area of your letter: Midway's personnel are highly trained and very marketable. They stay and serve this community because they care. I would invite you or ant other member of the public to do a ride along with us and see how busy we are and what you really get for your money.

Stephen Demeter

Fire Chief Midway Fire District