During a recent City Council meeting, Groveland Fire Department (GFD) Chief Kevin Carroll announced the realignment of titles for Division Chief Steve Smith and Division. Chief Josh Walsh.  Their new titles moving from Fire Captains to Division Chiefs more

accurately reflects the duties they are performing and the responsibilities they have been given.  Chief Smith will be in charge of life safety and community outreach, which includes fire inspections and fire plan examinations.  Chief Walsh will lead training, EMS and safety.

Chief Carroll also introduced newly hired Deputy Fire Chief Erich Thiemann, new Fire Inspector & Fire Plans examiner Frank Patterson, and welcomed Community Outreach Liaison Lisa Riffle to the GFD team.

Chief Carroll joined the GFD after an extensive executive search process by the City of Groveland.  He rose above the other applicants and joined the City on February 3, 2020.  He came to GFD with over 32 years of experience including 27 years in Hernando county.

Throughout his many years in the Fire Service, Carroll had come to know Chief Thiemann very well and actively recruited him after joining GFD.  Chief Carroll stated, “I always knew Erich was an up and coming Chief that would do great things.  We are blessed to have him to help us move into the future.”  Chief Thiemann replied, “I am looking forward to all the adventures and challenges and being part of the Groveland family.”

The new team has wasted no time moving forward.  Early in 2020, the GFD added 11 new firefighters.  Nine were hired through the SAFER grant program which subsidizes the first three years salary for new hires.  The other two were hired through the normal City process.

These new GFD employees will be deployed throughout the three Groveland stations.    Station 1 which is downtown at 450 W. Orange Street will be relocating to the new Public Safety Complex as soon as it is completed in early 2021.    Station 2 is at 193 Cherry Valley Trail, off Wilson Lake Parkway.  This station will also be the home of the department’s new brush truck.   The newest station, Station 3  is located at 20415 Independence Boulevard inside the Christopher C. Ford Commerce Park.  The station is a modular design and home to the department’s newest Sutphen Extreme Duty Class A pumper truck.  The station’s design and location will allow for an easy transition to another location.  Chief Carroll clarified, “Groveland Fire Station 3 is temporary.  We are looking for the proper location for the permanent station that aligns with the growth of the City as laid out in the new Future Land Use Element in the Comprehensive Plan.”  The station is staffed and running as of November 2, 2020.

Chief Carroll has employed an empowerment management style throughout the department.  One example of this method is how the department recently created the order for a new fire truck.  The Chief involved anyone willing, able, and interested in the department to be a part of the ordering process.  This included the selection of features and options on the new truck to meet the needs of the community, while still being fiscally responsible to the taxpayers. .  Empowering the firefighters to be part of the process was a new and welcome surprise to those involved.

Chief has also led the implementation of several new procedures and equipment.  The focus of these efforts is always the health and safety of the GFD team.

The new trucks all include a concept called “clean cab”.  This uses an outside “dirty gear bunker” compartment to store any used, dirty or contaminated gear.  This means that the truck must be able to carry 2 sets of gear for each responder.  This prevents contamination of the cab and station as the contaminated gear is removed from the external compartment directly to a designated decontamination area outside the occupied portion of the station.  Clearly, this is a benefit for both the health and cleanliness of the team as well as efficient use of time.

New cancer-preventive particulate hoods with full head and neck coverage have been issued to all firefighters.  The old hoods allowed particles to pass through the material, providing a major entry point for chemicals and carcinogens.  Along with the clean cab concept, these particulate hoods will allow for a much-improved safety system to keep firefighters safe.

Sometimes the changes are more subtle.  Historically the station ice makers were located inside the garage bay.  This allowed carcinogens into the ice during production.  Moving the ice makers to a separate, clean area was a simple yet effective solution.

These firefighters and EMTs are our neighbors, friends, and fellow residents.  As a way to remind us, here is a story from City Manager Mike Hein about the newly hired chief earlier this year.

Chief Carroll was driving through Groveland and noticed an older resident struggling with 2 trash cans and a cane.  He stopped and helped her get the cans back in place and carry on with her day.  Mrs. Griffin (life long resident and wife of former Councilperson John Griffin) wrote Mr. Hein gratefully praising Chief Carroll for his humanity and service.

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Fire Chief Morgan will be retiring after 44 years with the City of Groveland Fire Department.  In 1975 Chief Morgan began his career as a volunteer after a high school friend persuaded him into joining.  In 1976, the volunteer Fire Chief Buc Tomlinson resigned, leaving an opening in the department. At that time, a person had to live in the city to be the Fire Chief, and the only person who lived in the city limits was Morgan. In September 1999, the department converted over to a full-time paid department, making him the city’s first career paid Fire Chief.

Since then, he has grown the department from an all-volunteer department to a paid full-time department with 22 highly trained personnel, staffing two stations 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This year, the City of Groveland will open another Station and will add nine new firefighters.

Chief Morgan also served on the Groveland City Council for nine years, from January 1977 up until January 1986. In 2013, he also served as interim city manager until the position was filled.

Chief Morgan is also a General Contractor by trade and has worked on many buildings throughout the Groveland and Clermont area in one way or another. He will now oversee the construction of the city’s new 33,000 square-foot Public Safety Complex located on Highway 50.

After its completion, Chief Morgan and his wife of 43 years, Donna, will be moving to their retirement home on a river in Alabama.

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