For many years the fire station and
the ambulance service were two
different entities. In 1987 talks were
fast and furious, fueled by Dr. Hank
Wright of the Boca Grande Health
Clinic, to house an ambulance crew on
the island 24 hours a day, seven days a
week. Dr. Wright persisted in his fight
for a full-time ambulance and crew to
be kept in the fire department, instead
of in a garage at the Health Clinic
Annex building where it had been
housed for years.
By that time, still under the
supervision of Chief Darrell Polk, there
were 15 volunteer firefighters, two pumper trucks
and a ladder truck. There were no plans to hire any
full-time firefighters at that time, but that would soon
change.
Darrell and his family lived in the fire house until
1984, and they answered the phone 24 hours a day,
He kept that position for 33 years, until 1989 when
Lew Morgan took his place.
By that time, all volunteer firefighters were trained
with the Sarasota County Vocational School. Lew
stayed with the department for 10 years, until Chief
Dave Edmonds took over in 1999.
In 1993 the department got its first boat, after
volunteer firefighter (and sheriff ’s deputy)
Rich Caccavale created a plan to put a water
pump onboard.
By 1998 the fire department had three
full-time firefighters – Mike D’Angelo, Rob
D’Angelo and Wayne Griffith – and by
January of 2000 the department had six fulltime
certified firefighters, in addition to a
three-man administration. Firefighters then
included Damon Williams, Wayne Griffith,
Lee Cooper, Mike D’Angelo (who are all still
with the department), Paulette Ladd and
Steve Rose.
In 2001 plans were in the works for a fire
station renovation under Chief Dave
Edmonds, as the old location was no longer
adequate to house modern equipment or
full-time firefighter shifts. In the meantime,
the fire department set up on property
owned by the Gasparilla Island Water
Association near the storage tanks at 18th
Street. The facility was done within a couple
years’ time.
In 2009 Chief C.W. Blosser took charge of
the Boca Grande Fire Department after
years of experience with Arcadia Fire Department,
and he remains the Chief today.
Administrative Assistant Nancy Coleman has
been at her post now for 14 years. The Boca
Grande Fire Department now rotates five
firefighters and one lieutenant per shift, as
well as having two Lee County EMS
Chief Lew Morgan, who served from 1989 to 1999.
One of the department’s first trucks, a
1953 2 3/4 ton Dodge chassis.
The fire station on E. Railroad Avenue
prior to renovation.