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OFFICIAL LETTER FROM HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY RE:
STATION CLOSING !!! POST YOUR COMMENTS HERE !!! I have served Hillsborough County Fire Rescue (HCFR) as a fire explorer since I was 16 years old and then at 18 years old I became a volunteer firefighter with Seffner Mango Volunteer Fire Dept. (SMVFD) until today October 11, 2005 at 23 years old. I will no longer be able to volunteer my services to Hillsborough County thou, as I am a casualty of war. A war that is ludicrous and unwarranted. But that is the game of politics. Over the years I have gone and experienced many different things that I will never forget. Some good, some bad. I became the “unofficial” photographer for HCFR and I had a website created to showcase HCFR in action at there best. During my time as photographer I had the chance to work with many agencies and publications providing photos of emergency scenes and the work of HCFR personnel. I have photographed and video taped dozens of scene calls for HCFR and provided them with enormous amounts of positive press. From
1st Responder News: From
Print News Papers:
That is only a taste of what I have done. At times I was at scenes and had quality images available to the media before PIO Ray Yeakley was even notified! HCFR stressed that I was NOT an OFFICIAL photographer for them but I will be ALLOWED to photograph scenes, as is any other member of the public and the media. At no time was I ever “dispatched” to a scene. I obtained information about calls via a scanner and an incident notification service. I always went on my own time, with my own money, using my own equipment. Since I was not the official photographer I was never technically “on duty” so providing images to media for compensation did not violate HCFR’s SOP's. The money was never an amount to profit off of, and was mostly used for fuel of my personal vehicle that I used to drive to the scenes. While I photographed scenes, and provided photos to anyone that “would make us look good” a war was brewing in the volunteer ranks at SMVFD. Our Chief was under investigation for allegations of sexual harassment and un-firefighter like conduct. Ex-fire chief rises from soot of scandal [St. Petersburg Times] Feud engulfs station [St. Petersburg Times] Volunteer fire chief retires amidst sexual misconduct allegations [ABC Action News]
One morning I got a call from a then SMFVD lieutenant that the HCFR Staff has requested an emergency meeting… “something big is gonna happen” he said. By the time I reached the station just five minutes away it was a done deal, “Effective immediately we are no longer volunteers for Hillsborough County” said a fellow volunteer. As I walked into the station I saw most of the HCFR staff and various firefighters, shop workers, and radio shop personnel removing county owned equipment. Outside in the bay I witnessed as they removed our trucks leaving the bay empty. They then brought in vans and trucks and pulled all of our gear and loaded them into the vehicles. The reason given was that we had a mold problem. Mold problem my a**. The entire time SMVFD volunteers watched in disbelief as a 45 year tradition was being “taken over” it was a sad time for all of us but in the back of our heads we knew that someday it would happen. County shuts down Seffner-Mango Fire Department [ABC Action News] Volunteer Fire Department Closed [TBO.com] County Removing Equipment From Seffner-Mango Fire Station 18 [Hillsborough County] Dispute Closes Fire Station [Tampa Tribune] Volunteers Seek Fire Station Reopening [TBO.com] County folds Seffner-Mango fire station [St. Petersburg Times]
To sum up how I feel is this: After all these years! ALL THESE YEARS of nothing but positive images for HCFR I get what I call the “BIG FUCK YOU!” Just because of a personal feud between our chief and the county chief I have to lose all I worked for? That’s not cool at all! Then to scape goat it the closest thing to a reason they could give me why I was no longer to be a volunteer was “illegal use of my lights” Now let’s talk about that… Yes I did have Hideaway strobes in my car. And yes I did have a red light. All purchased on my own. I used them as strictly as safety lights. There has been dozens of times I have been on scene of a major accident or call and I have used my lights to serve as an initial warning till more units and/or law enforcement arrived. On one occasion during the Plant City 4th alarm fire I noticed a supply line lying on the roadway with no apparatus or firefighter present. At the time the entire downtown Plant City had no power so it was extremely dark other than the glow of the intense fire. This supply line was poorly laid and created a MAJOR problem if someone hit it. I used my car with lights to warn motorists. Now if I wasn’t there to do that someone would have run over it and created a BIG problem for crews, but that is just one instance and there are many similar stories. I understand HCFR’s concern about letting volunteers use warning lights on their personal vehicles. I understand that they don’t want some excited volunteer speeding to a call with a tiny red light or MAYBE strobes with no siren, then killing someone or them selves. I understand that BUT I never used my lights in that way. I use them as safety lights on scenes and I used the red to signify Fire Dept. not Law enforcement or towing. Well during the war between Hillsborough County vs. Bradley Price I was told to remove my lights from my car by our new chief. I immediately removed my visor light but not my hideaway strobes, because they are permanently installed and I am legally allowed to have them as is ANY other civilian. I was first on scene to a major extrication and I used my vehicle to block traffic I only had strobes no red light. As units arrived I noticed our new volunteer chief responding to the call out of his first alarm area. I noticed him in the distance looking through my car. When I tried to approach him he left the scene. I never heard anything else from him as far as lights. HCFR’s policy of red light usage in volunteer operations is basically you must have a signed “red light permit” from Chief Nesmith. If not you may not “display a red light” Well My $300 visor light is only DISPLAYED when it is flipped down, and it is clear unless turned on. And as far as my hideaway strobes… they are hidden until they are turned on! Now that the same chief that looked through my car is now the new chief of the replacement station he doesn’t want me back… hmmm I wonder why? When the station was closed I was told by a certain chief that he would help me continue to do photography for HCFR. A week later I received this letter (link to letter) I contacted Chief Nancy Couch about the letter and she said she will talk to the staff. Chief Couch also said to include some of my published work so they can refer to. I also emailed most of the chiefs I worked with in the past with photos and no one returned my emails. Not even the PIO Ray Yeakley that I helped NUMEROUS times. While he was sleeping I was out in the middle of the woods photographing a horse rescue at 11pm the video made national news airing on “inside edition” and all of the local medial outlets ran stories on it. Weeks later I found myself walking a mile into the woods of the Alafia River State Park as the special operations team rescued an injured mountain biker. My photos of HCFR rescuing the biker in the woods ran front page in newspapers. I was also in Punta Gorda 2 days after landfall photographing and video taping HCFR’s Task Force 3 operating and recently I teamed up with Tampa Fire Dept. when Tampa received 40 Hurricane Katrina evacuees. I helped Tampa Fire PIO Bill Wade photograph and his photographer did video. All this while HCFR’s PIO Ray Yeakley was no where to be found… Thanks for the help Ray. There are others that turned their backs on me… but I don’t know why… I did not do ANYTHING wrong! I think just because I wore a Seffner Mango VFD badge I was automatically guilty! But SMVFD never turned their back on me. They always helped me. I can’t end this rant without thanking a few people. You know who you are... I won’t mention names because I know you expressed fear of retaliation but I want to thank those career guys who looked out for me on scenes, and helped me from getting in trouble. The Special Operations team has always treated me VERY well and I am pleased to have worked with such great men and women. I hope to possibly see you in the future to yet again give you a good face. But until that day comes I am left with a bitter taste in my mouth! -Luis Santana *Please note that this letter is the opinions of Luis Santana Jr. and nobody else’s. If you do not wish to read them turn back now… You came here. You can leave as well. !!! POST YOUR COMMENTS HERE !!!
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