For a large number of Florida Keys firefighters, commute from the mainland is part of the job

It's no secret that many businesses and agencies in the Florida Keys are staffed by people who live on the mainland and commute to Monroe County.

But some may be surprised to find that of the approximately 240 full-time firefighters employed by Monroe County Fire Rescue, the Key West Fire Department, Marathon Fire Rescue and Islamorada Fire Rescue, about 92 of them live outside the Keys.

That's roughly 38 percent of Keys firefighters. It's a percentage fire chiefs and others hope will shrink. But given the high housing costs throughout the Keys, importing firefighters may be the only option for now.

"Young firefighters can share an apartment but once they get a family, it's almost impossible for them to find something reasonable," Marathon Fire Chief John Johnson said. "It's always been difficult to recruit locals. It was a problem before I came here [about four years ago]. I think we need to have more family-friendly housing here."

Monroe County Fire Rescue operates a certified training center at mile marker 56.6 on Crawl Key. County Fire Chief James Callahan said it takes about two years to become a full-fledged firefighter. His department employees 113 firefighters for 10 different fire stations from Tavernier to Key West. Of the county pool of firefighters, 83 are paramedics and 30 are emergency medical technicians.

Callahan said about 60 of the firefighters commute from the mainland and about another 50 live in Monroe. He said his agency doesn't have a problem attracting recruits to come and train and work for a few years. But he sees retention as the biggest issue facing fire departments in the islands.

"The pay is less here and the housing is higher here," Callahan said. "Housing and the high cost of living, that what hurts us the most. There are not a lot of young working families here. After we get them trained and they work here for a few years, they go back to the mainland for more money."

Callahan said the starting salary for a county firefighter is $37,604.

The Key West Fire Department has about 80 firefighters. Danny Blanco, division chief for the Southernmost City's department, said only Monroe County residents can apply to be a firefighter at his department.

The average starting wage for a Key West firefighter is $44,000, he said.

The Key West Fire Department works with Key West High School to recruit perspective students into firefighting careers. Blanco said since the department took over all emergency response services for Key West last year, 15 new recruits have been hired.

"The Key West High School Fire Academy runs Monday through Friday during the first two periods of the school day," Key West Fire Department Division Chief Alan Averette said. "This year, we have a total of 12 kids. I believe four of those students are seniors. The other eight will come back next year and finish the program out. We've gotten a lot of interest in the program."

After completing the program and working a "live burn" once they turn 18, the students receive their first-level certificate to become a firefighter. A level-two certificate is needed to become a career firefighter. Averette said most of the students continue their education at the county training facility.

Marathon's fire department runs a similar program with Marathon High School called the Marathon Fire Rescue Benevolent Association. Johnson said students can get sponsored to go through the county’s training academy. The chief said he has two young Benevolent Association members who are taking EMT classes and will hopefully eventually become full-time employees.

Terry Abel, fire chief for Islamorada, said his department has 24 full-time firefighters, three employees on administrative staff and one full-time fire inspector. Of the firefighters, 20 are paramedics and seven are EMTs. Four of the EMTS are in medic school that will be completed in the next few months.

"For a young up-and-coming firefighter, we can train them and help get the education and experience needed to be a firefighter," Abel said. "Affordable housing for a single person is doable but when they try to start a family and get into a family environment instead of a bachelor pad, prices get cost prohibitive. Cost-of-living index is higher and everything costs more."

He added that ambitious firefighters generally end up moving to the mainland for employment so they can move into higher positions such as captains and driver engineers.

Abel said the starting salary for a firefighter with paramedic training is about $42,000 annually including health insurance and a retirement package.

This story was originally published April 20, 2016 at 10:47 AM with the headline "For a large number of Florida Keys firefighters, commute from the mainland is part of the job."