Training captain: 80–85% of department calls are medical; fire unit outlines community safety programs
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Summary
Training Captain Kyle Taylor said the Morris City Park unit now handles mostly medical calls and runs community programs including car seat installation, sharps-container disposal, smoke-detector checks and replacements, CPR certification and water/high-angle rescue capabilities.
Kyle Taylor, training captain at Morris City Park, told the meeting that roughly 80 to 85 percent of the department’s calls are medical while staff remain prepared for structural and technical rescues. “Though we are still committed to fighting fires and protecting lives, the majority of our job is, medical in nature,” Taylor said.
The department provides several community safety programs intended to reduce harm and improve readiness, Taylor said. He described a car-seat installation program that lets caregivers bring seats for technician inspection and instruction; a sharps container program in which the department collects and disposes used needles and provides new containers; a smoke-detector program that inspects detectors, checks batteries and manufacture dates and, when needed, replaces the detector; and a CPR certification program that offers instructor-led training and certification.
Taylor also described the unit’s technical rescue capabilities. He said the department has trained rescue specialists for high-angle, confined-space and structural-collapse responses and noted a boat obtained “probably about a few years ago now” to cover waterways on the Saint Johns River and Lakeland Road.
On personnel and training, Taylor said continuing education and outside vendors help maintain the department’s skills and readiness. Recalling early career advice from his superior, he quoted, “not everybody can be a Kyle Taylor,” and said the remark reminded him to hold high standards without imposing them on others.
Taylor closed with a public-safety reminder for residents: check and maintain smoke detectors, ensure batteries are fresh, and have an escape plan. “It takes a few minutes to prepare our family members,” he said, “and to make sure we have these things in place because it allows to do our job better to make sure that everyone stays safe.”
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