West Manatee Fire Rescue commissioners Feb. 16 authorized a contract with a real estate agent, a chaplain program and reviewed annual reports.
The commission unanimously approved a motion to hire real estate agent J. Daniel Douglass to sell the administration building, 6417 Third Ave. W., Bradenton. The commission agreed the building is too large for the district’s needs.
A request for agents to handle the sale drew two proposals, but only one fit WMFR’s requirements.
WMFR Chief Tom Sousa said “Douglass seems highly qualified” and he expects the real estate agent to be successful.
The commission also approved a job description and policy to add a volunteer chaplain to the WMFR roster.
The chaplain will counsel firefighters, their families and victims of fires.
According to Capt. Ben Rigney, WMFR has not had a chaplain in at least eight years. In 2016, 132 firefighters and EMTs committed suicide nationwide, according to the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance, Rigney said.
Commission chair George Harris said a fire department in St. Petersburg lost a firefighter to suicide in 2016. “This is very close to my heart,” he said.
“There’s no better time to get a chaplain,” said Rigney.
“A fire department is three times more likely to see a suicide over a line of duty death,” he added.
In other news, the commission reviewed annual reports.
Of the 1969 calls WMFR received in 2016, 61 percent, or 1,209 calls, were for medical services. Of those, WMFR arrived 459 times before EMS services.
Of the medical incidents, 716 required simple medical assistance and 459 required EMS assistance.
Of the non-medical incidents, 47 calls were for fires. Of those, 16 were structural fires and 13 were natural vegetation.