During the November 19th city commission meeting, elected officials received a high-level overview of the impacts related to staffing, assets, and equipment, as service to Leon County residents unwinds.
Since 2009, the City of Tallahassee Fire Department has provided fire services to the city residents and unincorporated Leon County under an Interlocal Agreement. During the September 17th meeting, the board notified Leon County that it will not be renewing this agreement, giving the County three years to establish an independent fire services operation. The agreement ends on October 1, 2028.
As a result, the city will dispose of Fire Stations 10-14, along with their related equipment. This includes #10 near Oak Valley, #11 on Centerville Rd, #12 near Chaires, #13 in Woodville, and #14 near Lake Talquin State Park. Stations located within city limits will continue operations uninterrupted.
The city is currently in the process of building Station #17, a public-safety priority for Southside Tallahassee. However, it was initially planned to serve both the city and the county, with 90% of its intended coverage area in the latter. The design will be revised to be a city-only operation, ensuring it is appropriately sized for coverage within city limits.
All current TFD workers will remain employed by the city, including those whose stations will be eliminated.
The update notes that with the increased staffing resulting from the expiration of the agreement, firefighters will be able to concentrate on defined roles and functions during response operations rather than having to divide responsibilities among fewer personnel. Under current operations, TFD is able to staff emergency incidents at approximately 71% of the single-family residence staffing level recommended by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) for safe and effective incident response.
With the expiration of the agreement and the refocusing of operations within the city limits, TFD staffing will be brought up to 100% of this NFPA standard, providing a safer and more efficient operational environment. Increased personnel on scene will improve incident effectiveness, reduce risk to firefighters, and enhance the City’s ability to protect structures from fires. This transition represents the highest operational priority of the Tallahassee Fire Department and marks the most significant enhancement to fire service delivery for Tallahassee’s residents in decades.
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I just read in the Democrat that Leon County Commissioner Christian Caban brought up that the County should look in to taking over the Whole Fire Department from the City. I am totally FOR that. Wasn’t it at one time back in the 70’s and before called the “Leon County Fire Department”?
Did I read this right…currently, COT FD is only at 71% of the NFPA recommended response level for emergencies? What is going on…TFD was a top rated FD 20 years ago. The COT gets all this Fire service fee money, manages the program and that gets us 71%? There’s not even a Blueprint project to address this and other basic FD service needs like new fire stations? And their solution is to spin the county residents off the first time the County Commission doesn’t rubber stamp another fee increase?
I’m out Mahan near FAMU and I’m aware of 3 major fires happening nearby, one in the Vineyards, one across from Edenfield, and one a mile past I-10 and they were all total losses. What exactly are we getting?