Jacksonville — The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department is bringing back the fire safety prevention community advocate role to help keep neighborhoods in the city safer.
Mayor Lenny Curry says the position was eliminated by a previous administration, but it’s time to bring the position back. He says JFRD has battled 40 fires already this year.
“Of those, there have been five deaths, eight injuries and nearly a dozen rescues,” Curry says.
JFRD Chief Keith Powers says the mayor’s smoke detector program is also helping to save lives. That’s where members of JFRD go out into the community to make sure people have working smoke detectors in their homes.
He says an increase in funding for public safety has allowed for the hiring of more dispatchers, which is something he says has helped JFRD when firefighters are responding to emergency situations.
Powers says the fire safety prevention community advocate will be in charge of heading up those neighborhood canvases on top of several other duties.
“This person will also be responsible for going around and installing smoke detectors when people call 630-CITY and request that,” Powers says.