Noting more than 800 firefighters had to go off-duty due to being exposed to the virus, in his role as state fire marshal, Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis focused on data collection to help understand how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting the workforces of fire departments across the Sunshine State.
This week, Patronis took part in a call with the executive boards of the Florida Fire Chiefs Association and the Florida Professional Firefighters this week.
According to the CFO’s office, as part of the call, Patronis “discussed data collection measures to better understand workforce impacts to fire departments statewide due to COVID-19.”
“I heard from firefighters statewide on their continued response to the COVID-19 threat. My team is working with fire chiefs throughout the state to better understand workforce impacts to our fire service community during the response to COVID-19,” Patronis said.
“The Florida Professional Firefighters Association reports that more than 800 of their member firefighters were taken off-duty throughout the state during the height of response efforts due to direct or possible exposure,” Patronis added. “By working together to capture these vital figures, this assists our fire chiefs in properly scaling response efforts and shifting their workforce to better protect first responders and our communities. We must continue to support these efforts and I cannot thank these heroes enough as they work every day to respond to this unprecedented public health emergency.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
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