Pinellas County residents receive fire protection and emergency medical services through a complex system requiring coordination among 18 local governments. While this system provides a uniform emergency response system, it lacks effective mechanisms to plan service levels and track system-wide costs, which makes it difficult to identify more cost-effective service delivery models.
The county would benefit from establishing a broad-based planning entity to oversee a more coordinated approach to planning for fire protection and emergency medical services. Such an entity could track costs and help plan for more efficient and cost-effective services by taking into account what resources exist beyond a single municipality's border and by adopting a countywide view of service delivery. To achieve these goals, we recommend that the Legislature modify Chs. 73-600 and 80-585, Laws of Florida, to establish a comprehensive countywide planning system for fire and emergency medical services and a mechanism for reporting and tracking related financial information.

Fire Department Coordination Beneficial; Merger Guidelines Would Be Helpful
Report 01-67 December 2001

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