Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Emergency Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County reports emergency response figures after Hurricane Milton; calls for lifeguard recruits
Summary
Officials reported emergency-management and public-safety activity for 2024, including activation of the emergency operations center after Hurricane Milton, 18,000 Fire Rescue incidents, 64,000 EMS calls (50,000 transports), 2,100 water rescues, and 2,000 medical emergencies by Beach Safety and Ocean Rescue.
Volusia County leaders used the State of the County address to summarize 2024 emergency-response activity and to call for beach lifeguard recruits.
Brower said Emergency Management fully activated the Emergency Operations Center after Hurricane Milton, coordinated countywide preparations, and assisted FEMA in establishing disaster recovery centers. He reported an estimated $267,000,000 in damages from Milton.
Fire Rescue responded to more than 18,000 incidents in 2024. County Beach Safety and Ocean Rescue reported about 2,100 water rescues and roughly 2,000 medical emergencies; Brower described their role in rescues and recoveries after Milton. Brower also said EMS units responded to 64,000 calls and transported 50,000 patients.
Brower urged residents to consider lifeguard service, describing Beach Patrol recruitment and training needs and encouraging people aged 16 and up to apply.
Other public-safety and related items highlighted in the speech included Volusia County Animal Services increasing calls by more than 50% year over year and performing nearly 5,400 spay/neuter procedures, and the Medical Examiner moving to a new facility and earning national accreditation from the National Association of Medical Examiners.
Why it matters: County leaders framed these figures as evidence of staff commitment and the continuing need for resources for emergency operations, fire, EMS, beach safety, and animal services.
Details and limits: The address presented aggregate incident and service tallies but did not break out geographic distributions, unit-level staffing counts, or detailed budgetary requests tied to the figures during the speech.
