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This committee was formed to
gather information, and search all options available in order to
return a Fire Station to the Vero Lake Estates area. This
includes, determining if we can re-establish the Volunteer Fire
Dept. that is presently inactive, or securing a professional
Fire/EMT station. The committee has served it's purpose and has
been disbanded. The Vero Lake Volunteer Fire Department, Inc.
takes it's place with C. Michael Martoe as President.
Presently, the nearest fire station to VLE is located at the
intersection of Barber and Tulip in Sebastian, around six (6)
miles away and almost six and one half miles (6 1/2) away from
the southwestern section of Vero Lake Estates. I have over
thirty (30) years experience as a Firefighter, including
positions of Fire Chief, Fire Marshall, line officer, and
firefighter. I can tell you from experience, that
the most critical and important moments
are the first three (3) minutes, when a house fire or
medical emergency such as a heart attack, stroke, choking, and
many other medical emergencies occur.
Presently, residents and families of
Vero Lake Estates, and also the students attending the three
schools bordering VLE, should not count on any assistance from
our Indian River County Fire Dept. within this time frame, and
most likely it will be closer to at least twice this critical
time limit, and possibly much more, before any first responders
will arrive to render assistance to fire or medical emergency
victims. Because of this, chances of
surviving many emergency situations will be drastically reduced.
This situation is intolerable.
According to the IRC Property Appraiser's Office statistics, VLE
has 2,261 homes, and approximately 1,000 school aged children,
with over half of them being of elementary age. Our roads are
slow to traverse, and in rainy conditions nearly impassable,
making response times even greater. Making matters even worse,
because of the distance emergency personnel and apparatus need
to travel, ISO, a company that gathers information for home
insurance companies and creates ratings on a system of 1 to 10,
with 10 being the worst rating, presently rates many homes in
VLE at 10 (the worst), and many of the remainder a 9 (almost the
worst). This costs you, the
homeowner, possibly an extra $500 or more, each and every year
for your homeowner insurance policy. Check your policy.
Make no mistake about it, this is a VERY
SERIOUS SITUATION, and it will be just a matter of time
before someone pays the ultimate price for this lack of readily
available emergency personnel and equipment to the VLE area! As
the population continues to grow, this
situation will only get worse.
We have made considerable headway towards reorganizing our
presently inactive Vero Lakes Estates Volunteer Fire Dept (VLVFD),
and we are at a point now where we need to put pressure on our
County Commissioners to fund its revival. We are also looking for
people to join the Volunteer Fire Dept.
Click here for more info and follow
directions to add your name for application, or send your name,
address, and phone number to VLEPO, Inc., P.O. Box # 780869,
Sebastian,
Fl., 32978-0869 Attention: VLVFD for application. Certain qualifications apply.
Remember, we need you to make this
happen.
We strongly urge all residents to
immediately contact your Indian River County Commissioners,
demanding a Fire Station in the VLE area. Tell your friends,
neighbors, and families to contact their Commissioners.
Make our voices heard! We pay the
same taxes as other IRC residents and we demand equal fire and
medical protection that other IRC residents enjoy. Contact
information for IRC Commissioners is below. Take the few minutes
it will take to contact your Commissioners and tell them to do
their jobs and get us a Fire Station. After all, we are paying
for it. Check your annual tax bill. Commissioner Davis
represents our district; however, our fate is in the hands of a
3 out of 5 vote. Contact all of your County Commissioners!
District
Our committee
welcomes any suggestions or help any person is willing to
provide to assist us in securing a Fire station in the VLE area.
Come on,
GET INVOLVED!
Sincerely,
C. Michael
Martoe , President
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