International Firefighters Day, resolution 25-206

51:41Okay, res five is going to be um

51:47the uh International Firefighters Day. So here we go.

51:58It's a it's a busy week.

52:01Is he man? Alright, I'll go ahead and read the resolution. Resolution number 25-206, a resolution by the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County, Florida, declaring the declaring May 4th, 2025 as International Firefighters Day in Pasco County. Whereas in recognition of our firefighters, International Firefighters Day honors the sacrifices made by past and present firefighters to ensure the community is as safe as possible. And whereas

52:31International Firefighters Day began in nineteen ninety nine when Lieutenant J. J. Edmondson sent out to honor five firefighters from the GREE GRE Long? Is that correct? West Fire Brigade of Australia who lost their lives while fighting a fire on december second, nineteen ninety eight, and an ab and is observed on may fourth because that is the feast day for Saint Florian, Who is considered the patron saint for

53:02firefighters? And RAS, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation recognizes the week of May 3rd through 4th, 2025, as the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend and created the light uh the Light the Night for Fallen Firefighters, which encourages fire departments, families, and businesses to turn their porch lights red to honor and remember those. Firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty. ANRAS International Firefighters Day aims to raise public awareness about the invaluable

53:32role the firefighters play in protecting lives and property and to serve as a solemn reminder of the dangers, increased health risks, and sacrifices they make and the toll their profession takes on their physical and mental well-being. ANRAS International Firefighters Day is a worldwide day to recognize, express appreciation, and salute the men and women of the fire service for their incredible dedication to public service, their bravery in keeping us safe and protecting our properties, communities,

54:03natural preserves, and wildernesses. ANRAS, we reflect on their heroism, show our gratitude. And thank them for their extraordinary commitment, exceptional courage, and selfless duty, and offer our support to those firefighters on the front lines every day. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County, Florida, that said board hereby proclaims May 4th, 2025 as International Firefighters Day in Pasco County and recognizes the citizens of Pasco County to join in expressing appreciation.

54:33appreciation for the hard work, extreme diligence, exceptional service, and dedication provided by the individuals who work in Pasco County Fire Rescue. Dun and resolved in regular session with the quorum present and voting the sixth day of May 2025. Approved.

54:50Second.

54:50All in favor? Aye.

54:52Commissioner Yeager. All right.

54:54Well thank you and I am honored to present this resolution to you all. Um thank you for your commitment and your courage to uh providing our residents in Pasco County. Um not only are you guys firefighters, but you're also first responders. You're the first one on the scene of an accident. I I can't imagine the things that you guys see and perform on on a daily basis. And you know, hearing this I I it can't help me remind me of when um JJ gave

55:24out the Warrior Award with the lady who was in distress with the two children and had nowhere to go. She was scared on the run, didn't have car seats, and she ran to the ran to the fire station. So the fire station, you know, is just a symbol of of safety and hope. And um I just thank you guys for for risking your lives every day. And um in Pasco County we Proud that we're investing in your your health and safety, and thank you for everything you do for our citizens. You guys are absolutely

55:54amazing, and we're so grateful and thankful to have you. Oh, and of course, my son is in the cadet program. So I'm very proud of him as well. And he really looks up to you guys. If I tell him I ran into a firefighter, who is it, Mom? What station do they have?

56:15J J. Ryan, Chief, um I can't thank you enough for all that you do and all your staff and members of the fire department all do throughout our county. And I certainly appreciate all you do that uh leads to safe saving lives and also uh taking care of our citizens so that we'll be out of harm's way. So thank you very much.

56:37Commissioner Weightman. Yeah, thank you. Well, you guys I don't know how you handle the stress. You worry about taking care of everybody else all day long. And you all have families and loved ones you got to care for also. And uh again, like so with the corrections, take care of yourselves. It's important. If you don't take care of yourselves, you can't take care of us. And we need you. And you guys choose this profession and love doing the job day in and day out. Not just

57:07when you're on duty, but see the guys in the back there, they're probably off duty and they're still here and doing all different community engagement events throughout our county and out of county. To promote the job at hand in our our department here in Pasco. So thank you for your love and dedication of your job, our county, our folks, our businesses, and just incredibly grateful for all you do for us. So glad you're here. Today.

57:36Commissioner Oakley.

57:37I like to say you guys are just a top class. Um the organization, especially over the years, has just grown to be such a professional organization. The work you do is incredible. I know that people appreciate it. The survey show it over and over again. The people we talk to uh show that. And I think you can see with the board that you know making sure you have the right equipment, making sure you have the right place to live while you're working. And you're away from your families. I think the new schedule is going to be something that's going to great, take the stress off you at the same time, improve

58:07your quality of life. The care that we want to take of you guys to make sure you're healthy, not only for mental health, but the physical health, I think it shows with the station we're putting in place and all the all the stuff we do. And I'll tell you, you've got a great team of leaders, but you guys are doing a great job on the ground, and that makes such a difference to this county. So thank you. Thank you for all your great service. We appreciate it. And by the way, I do have two Lampos. I think I got a red one and I'll have a blue one now for the week. And

58:30our county administrator wants to say some words.

58:33Yes, actually, I just uh again grateful for the service that you provide. Having grown up in this environment, I I I understand what you do day in and day out. I will say that uh I'm also proud, I'm very proud of this agency and what you guys have accomplished. Pasco County's reputation. is first rate in the state if not in the nation, but it's because of you and uh you you should take great pride in that. Yeah, because I certainly do. And we're just grateful for the relationship that we have, both administration, the union, rank and file. It's been fantastic. So thank you all for that.

59:02And and I would just echo all the comments here. Um JJ, wonderful job. We're so glad we have this new Occupation. And Chief, congratulations on all the fine work you're doing. And I always say there's not a time when I'm out on the road that I don't pass one of you guys. Heading off to an emergency and there was the fire truck this morning. I think it was on Curley or the Prospects heading somewhere um this morning. So I think we're the busiest fire

59:33department in the state, is that correct? Oh, there was a tractor

59:37trailer turned over on I seventy five.

59:39Oh well, um no doubt uh we value your service and love the good relationship we have with all of you and are just so grateful that you have chosen your professions to take care of all of us. So with that, Chief Commissioner Yeager, that's Chief wanna say something. Chief just

59:59like to say, you know, we value your support. We thank you very much. Much for it all. This is uh Battalion Chief Vic Tessaro, Captain James Muller, these are the crews that are here just down the road that are here serving the public in this area right here. These are the ones that are doing the hard work, these are the ones that are out there making a difference, and they're the ones that are making this organization as great as they are, just like the uh uh Mr. Karbala said. So um, you know, this is a day of remembrance as well. I'd just like to remind the commission that you know two years ago we lost Jason Tucker to a line of duty death. And this weekend we had a representation up at the National Fallen

1:00:30Firefighters Memorial where he was memorialized very, very respectfully and and well deserved. So I just wanted to bring that back to attention.

1:00:37Thank you very much. Um Commissioner JD, did you Okay, sorry.

1:00:42Just for real quick, I want to thank uh the Commissioners for your support on the mental health initiatives. We have our mental health for first responders. That program is being copied. We used it when there was an area county who had a tragic loss. We used our services and they utilized our services. We're being copied. We've been asked to go around the country and frankly outside of our country to help model that program. And the same thing

1:01:12with D Shift. If you uh and And Mike has heard this from from his family members in Tampa. Everyone's trying to figure out how to copy Pasco County with the D

1:01:22Mayor Castors asked me on one of our um economic development trips that how did you do that?

1:01:27I just wish the public knew the phone calls that we've had over the years, whether it's on equipment, D shift, mental health. The advocacy the advocacy you guys have had and shown to this fire department and and the corrections. I'm I'm lucky I say I have the best job because I had public safety, but it helps these guys on the ground do their job because we're providing the best equipment and the support. So I just want to say thank you.

1:01:50All right.

1:01:51And thank you to Raider and the other dogs in the fire department. department.