SGI Volunteer Fire Department

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Eastpoint, FL
SGI Volunteer Fire Department

SGIVFD provides Fire and First Response services to St. George Island, FL Citizens and Visitors.

07/03/2024

Please join the SGI Volunteer Fire Department in participating in the St. George Island 4th of July Parade tomorrow from 11 am. We hope you can join the celebration!

06/18/2024

Request from the SGIVFD to please respect our Island’s special gift, our turtles, and avoid those beach fires during the Island’s hatching season. We understand that “small warming fires” are not illegal, but those hatchlings and their mothers could use our help.

Thank you!

06/08/2024

PLEASE GUESTS AND LOCALS!

In your excitement to get to the beautiful beaches or the bay, don’t forget to take your keys. And, especially don’t forget that sweet furry family member traveling with you. FCSO responds to these pet emergencies, but please don’t increase what is already a heavy load with our increased traffic. Pet tragedies can be averted.

Thanks for all your help and have a wonderful week-end.

05/25/2024

SGI Volunteer Fire Department’s 2024 Hat Drive closed last month (although a few hats remain and are available for sale.) Our generous supporters helped us well exceed our goal, for a total contribution of $58,575. Donors numbered 371, with contributions ranging from $20 to $2000. Especially heart-felt by the VFD was the 300 Ocean Mile HOA $1000 donation in our First-Responder, Brian Smith’s name.

Those of us that know the numbers: we cannot emphasize enough how important this and the other major SGIVFD fund-raiser, the Chili Cook-Off, are to our continued success. The sole official funding mechanism, the Municipal Service Benefit Unit of $95 (an annual homeowner fee), accounts for less than half of the VFD budget. The SGIVFD receives no other local, State or Federal funding, unless solicited through grants. If limited to the MSBU, the overhead expenses, plus utilities for the two fire stations, Pine Street and the Plantation; constant testing fees and maintenance for equipment; training; and insurance would preclude the VFD from ever rehabilitating and upgrading our equipment and infrastructure, as we were able to do last year.

A portion of these contributions help pay the on-going training costs our Volunteers receive. Multiple SGIVFD Members are currently completing the arduous task of Firefighter 1 training, which consists of hundreds of hours of classroom and on-site instruction; training comparable to paid municipal firemen. First-Responders also recently completed an additional two-week training in order to professionally respond to the many calls the SGIVFD receives from both Guests and Island locals. Multiple “Thank You” cards arrive each year, lauding the VFD’s professionalism and care.

In a significant change from prior years’ procedure, this year, SGIVFD Member Dave Snow created a computer-generated list of mailing labels to the Hat Drive donors for our “Thank You” letters and hats. This list of known donors can now be used, later this year, to contact our supporters, rather than the very expensive blanket approach of mailing Island homeowners a Hat Drive request. We look forward to expanding our contributors to everyone that loves the Island and would like to be part of our SGIVFD family in the future, including later this year for the 2025 Hat Drive.

For those of you, the core contributors to the Island’s well-being, we cannot voice our appreciation enough. Thank you, again, to the SGIVFD’s generous benefactors!

05/22/2024

On Monday, May 20, the SGI Volunteer Fire Department received an Emergency Alert at 11:47 pm. Despite the late hour, Firefighters were immediately responsive with a pre-planned action mode, as to trucks and personnel. Firefighters (while leaving their own homes) could see the home, already fully engulfed in flames at the time of the Emergency Alert. Despite the admirable efforts of the SGIVFD and the much appreciated assistance of our fellow Firefighters with Eastpoint Volunteer Fire Department, the home was lost. However, the Firefighters’ actions did protect and save those homes nearby, directly in danger. Firefighters worked on the scene until approximately 5 am and returned a short time later to attack new hotspots at the site. All the Firefighters responded diligently and admirably in a dangerous, difficult situation. The Community should be proud for their continuous support of these selfless Volunteers.

The SGIVFD wishes to offer our sincere condolences for our homeowners’ loss, especially the loss of their family member and dear pet, Colby. We, as a group, also wish to extend our help and assistance in any manner that may be needed by those impacted. Please know your Community supports you.

In addition to our gratitude to the willing reciprocity always furnished by the Eastpoint VFD, we add our thanks to the FCSO for providing assistance on the scene. Fires are, by nature, chaotic and disorienting and Sheriff Smith’s team’s involvement was much appreciated.

And, a final “Thank You” to our generous supporters for helping to provide the funding for the training and equipment necessary to keep our Island safe.

04/16/2024

Wednesday, April 17, the Florida Forestry Department will be conducting a Controlled Burn at Nick’s Hole in the Plantation.

02/19/2024

LATEST 2024 SGIVFD HAT DRIVE UPDATE

LOCALS: If you did not pick-up your hat at the Fire Station Saturday or last week at Shrimpfest, your hat was delivered by Skip Kemp on Saturday afternoon. He deposited it in your mailbox, if no one was available. Please check your mailbox. If you paid and did not receive a hat, please email us at [email protected].

LOCATED OFF SGI: Please give the USPS ten days for delivery. If not received by March 1, please email us at [email protected] and we will investigate. Please verify that your check cleared, prior to contacting us. We received several requests, with no check included.

We still have a few hats left and will continue to fulfill requests sent to:
SGIVFD
PO Box 682
Eastpoint, FL 32328

Many thanks to our generous donors, both locals and off-the-Island, and we hope to remedy the problem of multiple requests (mentioned by several donors) by employing the final mailing list from this year for next year’s Hat Drive.

02/18/2024

UPDATE ON THE TDC EQUIPMENT PURCHASE GRANT

As you may recall, last August, after House Bill 7063 provided additional grant options to some county Tourist Development Councils, Chief Ben Mathewson submitted a grant request to the Franklin County TDC for unfunded, but needed, SGIVFD equipment. Requested items included an ATV with Medical Sled and a Quick-Response Vehicle. The grant request totaled $56,277.34, with the funding for the QRV the first year of a four-year payoff.

The TDC accepted the SGIVFD grant request that August and on February 6 the Board of County Commissioners held a public hearing on changes to the TDC budget. This was followed by the full BOCC’s acceptance of the SGIVFD grant request. Needless to say, the TDC grants, which are provided to supplement local LEO/EMS who provide services to large numbers of Tourists (with the TDC providing grants for unfunded expenses), were appropriate, considering the high number of First Responder calls, most of which are for non-locals. The Chief was in attendance and received thanks from the Commissioners for the SGIVFD’s service and commitment.

With funding in hand, the next step will be for the Chief, Asst. Chief John Alonzo and Captain Jason Timbert to finalize a selection of the items for purchase. We want to once again thank David Covington for publishing HB 7063, which started the process to receive the grant funding. And, of course, most of all, we want to thank our SGIVFD First Responders, whose impressive response and interaction numbers emphasized the necessity of the grant application.

02/16/2024

HAT PICK-UP TOMORROW AT PINE STREET STATION

IF YOU ORDERED AN SGIVFD 2024 HAT, PLEASE STOP BY THE PINE STREET STATION TOMORROW FROM 9-11 AM TO PICK UP YOUR HAT.
IF YOU WISH TO BUY ONE, THE HAT IS A $100 DONATION, AND YOU CAN PURCHASE ONE TOMORROW.

THANK YOU.

02/12/2024

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SGIVFD FIRST RESPONDERS

During the last two weeks, including Saturday, SGIVFD First Responders attended Emergency Medical Responder training each night at the Pine St or Plantation Fire Stations. Franklin County EMS provided instructors.

We wish to thank our selfless volunteers for, once again, generously giving their time to help our citizens and visitors to our Island.

Address

324 East Pine
Eastpoint, FL
32328

Telephone

+18509272753

Website

http://Sgivfd.Com/

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