Lake County firefighters terminated over hour-long response time

TAVARES, Fla. - Four firefighters are out of jobs following an investigation that was sparked by a complaint from the firefighters’ union.

The union that represents the firefighters in Lake County has been vocal about issues with shifts and staffing. They posted online about someone having to wait over an hour for help. The Deputy Fire Chief’s investigation into the incident revealed the firefighters essentially said they were taking a breather for a few minutes. 

However, this is an industry where seconds matter.  The investigation hinged around a call about an 80-year-old man who had fallen to the ground six hours prior. It took an hour and twelve minutes between when the 911 call was received and when an ambulance arrived.

FOX 35 News spoke with the Firefighters’ Union President, Jason Graham, before the investigation’s results were released. At the time, he called the response time obscene.

"The system failed," he told FOX35. "There’s just no excuse for it." 

A review of the video from inside the ambulances working that day revealed there were two crews that could have been there faster if they'd alerted the Communications Center that they were available. 

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In an interview with investigators, one firefighter said he was overworked, irritated, having a bad day, and wanted a brief break before getting back out to work. 

Another firefighter told investigators he didn’t say anything because he wanted to get off work at a reasonable time. Both lost their jobs. 

A third – who’d been a firefighter and paramedic in Lake County for 17 years – was fired because he didn’t intervene when his partner falsified their availability time.  

A fourth firefighter resigned just before the investigation was announced. The Fire Department has already had some staffing issues, which the union says have led to major strain. 

"Those are the guys that are suffering with the increased workload and everything that goes along with that," said Graham. "The issues are, we do not have enough ambulances on the road… It’s extremely taxing on them physically and mentally." 

The Union and County start contract negotiations this coming Monday.