WINTER GARDEN the way we live
No forgetting to shut the stove off. With modern technology, it shuts itself off for safety. It makes cooking
a Thanksgiving Turkey a little tricky, though.
What happens if your call takes so long, the food
you were cooking is unsafe to eat? Then we swing
by the drive thru.
How can the citizens show you our love
and support for what you do for the
community? We like cookies!
Also, a well written note is greatly appreciated. (After seeing
their cooking dilemma, I might
add providing Thanksgiving
Dinner or a meal would be
nice as well as offering to
mow their lawn once in
awhile).
Do you offer citizen ride
alongs? Not at this time.
Do you have an Explorer
program? Not at this time.
What is an “Engineer”?
This person has received
special training to drive and
operate the Fire Trucks. On
scene, the run the operations
of the truck, set up equipment
for the firefighters’ use so they
don’t have to run back and forth for
needed equipment.
Do firemen really rescue kittens from
trees? Yes. People call 911 when they
need an answer. We rescue kittens from trees,
respond to gators in garages, and have rescued so
many ducks from grates that we invented a special
duck rescue tool.
Tell us a little known fact about the Fire Department. We spend 1/3 of our lives here. Twenty four
hours on duty, forty eight hours off duty. Every day is
a Friday for us. We work and have two days off.
With Father’s Day coming up, do you have any
new fathers? Chuck Rich, Firefighter/EMT will be
a new dad this summer. Kevin Skinner, Firefighter/
EMT, this is his second father’s day.
Any fathers with the most children? Brian Sanders,
Battalion Chief/EMT and Brandon Minnick, Firefighter/Paramedic. They each have 4 children.
Which father has the youngest child? Chris Parish,
Lieutenant/Paramedic had a little girl and Brandon
Minnick Firefighter/Paramedic had a little boy.
Are there any firemen that are following a family
tradition of firefighters? Brandon Minnick’s father is a firefighter with Ocoee.
Mike Gurney, Engineer/EMT. His
father works at Reedy Creek Fire
Dept. Brandon Sabat, Engineer/
Paramedic and brother Jordan
Sabat, Firefighter/EMT have
followed after their dad,
Louis Sabat, Paramedic.
Louis is retired but is now an
instructor.
Have you lost anyone in the
line of duty?
Stuart Baker died of a heart
attack while operating the
fire engine pump on a fully
involved house fire in the Tildenville area of Winter Garden.
Position: Driver/Officer
Age: 60
Date of Death: 01/26/1981
Omar Martinez died of a heart attack
several hours after finishing a 24 hour
shift at the fire station. We consider this
directly related to work.
Position: Driver/Engineer
Age: 46
Date of Death: 05/25/2009
Do you have any additional information you would
like to share with the public? Matt wanted to leave
me with 3 important things to remember.
1.
Their biggest accomplishment was adding
Advanced Life Support to every truck on every shift.
2.
They worked hard on providing an identity.
Their trucks and uniforms incorporate unique artwork
designed by Matt and Andy Crabtree. The emblem