AVON PARK — The sales office of a new housing subdivision was heavily damaged early Sunday, and the State Fire Marshall declared it the second arson in three days for the Avon Park area. The fire at 1200 S. Florida Ave. comes just two days after a Friday morning blaze that struck the New Life Ministries at 25 S. Verona Ave. ...more

December 31, 2007

There are few county services more instrumental in saving lives than its EMS force ––and just like a fire department –– every second counts. Understanding how crucial it is to dispatch an ambulance as quickly as possible, and considering how our population balloons in the winter, our EMS officials have made some needed changes to make sure that everyone gets served on time. ...more

December 31, 2007

AVON PARK — The sales office for Water's Edge at Lake Anoka was heavily damaged early Sunday, and the State Fire Marshall declared it the second arson in three days for the Avon Park area. The fire at 1200 S. Florida Avenue comes two days after a Friday morning blaze that struck the New Life Ministries at 25 S. Verona Ave. ...more

December 30, 2007

Tis' the season for gift giving and spreading holiday cheer, so the New Port Richey Fire Department is doing just that. Last week, City Council members approved the donation of surplus self-contained breathing apparatus to the Hernando Beach Volunteer Fire Department. ...more

December 23, 2007

One year ago, my family moved away from Miami to find a better environment to raise our family. On the night of Dec. 17, we discovered how right we were in choosing the Town of Lake Placid. We lost everything in the fire that consumed our house at 367 Carole Road NW, but we gained an overwhelming sense of community. The efforts made by both the Lake Placid Volunteer Fire Department and the Placid Lakes Volunteer Fire Department, was an act we thought deserved acknowledgment. They disregarded personal safety to retrieve the only item of any value to my family, my little brother's ashes, who had passed away only a year ago. However, they did not stop there. They continued going back into the house despite the fire's refusal to be put out, or the roof collapsing all around them. For hours they fought that Phoenix and the cold weather of that evening's frost, to help a family they did not know, and to try and maintain a home they no longer recognized. Even while we were all aware that all was lost, they did not quit until the last ember was out. They came to us later and handed us pictures they had managed to rescue while dowsing flames. My family and I could not believe that these fire personnel were all volunteers. ...more

December 23, 2007

LAKE PLACID — The American Red Cross has set up a family of three for three nights at the Kenilworth Lodge after an electrical fire Monday night left them without a home. ...more

December 19, 2007

SEBRING — Highlands County Sheriff Susan Benton is excited to talk about her office's new $11.1 million law enforcement facility that is scheduled to begin construction next year off of West George Boulevard, just west of U.S. 27, in south Sebring. "(The new facility) will be an important development, which will help with the health and safety of our staff," said Benton. On Wednesday afternoon, Benton, along with several employees from the sheriff's office, were present for a meeting in front of new site-facility designer Architects Design Group Inc., of Winter Park, at the DeSoto City Volunteer Fire Department station. ...more

December 6, 2007

Tuesday was Independence Day for the High Point Volunteer Fire Department. ...more

December 5, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - As the days of volunteer fire departments all but disappear, Pasco County emergency officials are wondering if their fundraising efforts should follow suit. ...more

November 6, 2007

LAND O'LAKES - More than $20,000 has disappeared from the coffers of the Land O'Lakes volunteer fire department, and the department's treasurer has been arrested. The Pasco County sheriff's office charged Alicia Long Puertas, 32, of Lutz, with felony grand theft of more than $20,000. On Saturday, Puertas was in the Land O'Lakes jail on $10,000 bond. ...more

November 3, 2007