Big Pine Key Fire Station Falling Apart

The conditions are poor for the crews at the Big Pine, Stock Island and Tavernier stations. All were built decades ago when the Florida Keys' fire departments were staffed solely by volunteers and not by full-time professionals who live in them every third day during 24-hour shifts.

"In the 1960s, '70s and '80s, this station served its purpose -- a place where the volunteers would meet Wednesdays, eat pizza and train," said Cab Bentley, a veteran firefighter/paramedic at Station No. 13 on Big Pine Key. "But times have changed. We don't want to whine, but we've waited years. Enough is enough."

It took an hour for a reporter to be shown all the things that were wrong with the station erected in 1961 by the Big Pine Key Lions Club. There is mold on the ceilings. An ancient septic system forces washing machine wastewater to be dumped into the parking lot. There's a huge crack in the support structure, where bricks can be pulled out like Legos. The electric system probably wouldn't pass code.

In 2003, Monroe County officials recognized that about half of the then 12 stations run by the county in unincorporated areas were grossly antiquated and voted for the $20 million bond that's funded by a one-cent infrastructure sales tax.

"I've been here four years and it's just a little frustrating that only one has gotten under way, North Key Largo, and only one is completed, Ocean Reef," Monroe County Fire Chief Clark O. Martin Jr. said Wednesday on a conference call that included county engineer David Koppel.

"I would hate to wait another four years to get stations done," Martin added. "But what I'm hearing from Dave, I'm confident they are going to get going on them." While little ground has been turned, Koppel said much work has been done behind the scenes.

"Within two years, I expect to see all the projects finished," Koppel said. "The money is there. It's safe. It has the support of the County Commission. Nobody is against the projects. Everything's a go. We just need to get the bids in line [with] the budget."