My buddy Jack Peltier and I have just returned from another Road Trip. This time we headed down to Florida to take a look at a couple of really neat fire police operations. Let me tell you that the folks and Volusia County and Spring Hill have their act together when it comes to taking care of business on the highways of their areas.

Each of these units consists of a group of dedicated volunteers. The on thing that Jack and I agreed on is that every person we met was there because they truly wanted to be a part of their fire police unit. There was an interesting combination of Florida natives and transplants from other places. The current roster includes 18 members with four of those awaiting the next training program that will qualify them for full duty.

The Volusia County group had a series of five well-equipped pickup trucks at key locations around the county. They have a great relationship with county government. They use each of their four-wheel drive pickup trucks for two years. The units are then replaced and the used units are transferred to the county lifeguard organization. They have a basic equipment roster that is similar for each vehicle.

This organization meets weekly to drill on the tasks that they need to perform out on the highway. Their territory ranges from rural areas right on up to heavily-trafficked parts of Interstate 95, as well as Daytona Beach itself. When we spoke with them they indicated that they respond to approximately 30-35 calls for assistance each month.

Another of their critical duties involves being a part of the highway traffic control contingent for the Daytona 500, as well as a number of other major races which take place at the Daytona Motor Speedway. They are also mobilized for the two major Bike Weeks, as well as college spring break festivities.

On the night we met with them, they were conducting traffic control duties at the county fire training center. There was one of an ongoing series of regional mutual aid drills that night and there job was to see that traffic flowed safely through the area and that the responding units were safe from civilian stragglers in the area. We knew where we were going when we saw the traffic control point at the entrance to facility.

We had a very good meeting with these fine folks. Two long-time Cumberland Valley Volunteer Fireman's Association members, Former CVVFA President Joe Bukowski and Bob Romig made the trip with us. There was a tremendous exchange of information. We gave and we got. I guess that is the sign of a productive session.

On the day after our Volusia County visit we all met at the headquarters of the Spring Hill, Florida Fire Department about two hours south of Volusia County. Once again Jack, Joe, Bob, and I came together as a group and met with the J.J. Morrison Chief of Department and two of his fire police leaders, Bill Herman and Dr. Mark Hopkins.

There was a tremendous give and take about the way in which the fire police operate in Spring Hill. We also reviewed their program and took a look at their fire police vehicle. The ten members of this volunteer group cover an area of more than 40 squares miles.

The Spring Hill group also provides mutual aid to surrounding communities as well as the Florida State Highway Patrol and the county sheriff's office. Bill and Mark told us that they average about 35 calls per month. They have two pickup trucks assigned to their group equipped with generators and highway traffic control cones.

Each of these units has a certain level of police power under state statutes. In both groups they stressed the fact that when they have a problem with a driver out on the highways that it is their practice to bring in regular law enforcement officers to handle any citations which must be issued.

We here at Respondersafety.com are pleased and proud that we were able to meet fire police members in Florida. We shared a great deal of information on our group, as well as the Fire Corps project which was completed on Saturday September 29, 2007 at the Goshen Fire Company in West Chester, Pennsylvania. It is our hope that these units will continue to grow and prosper.

It is our intent to put forward the need for fire police and similar Volunteers in Police (VIP) programs around our nation. You can help to get out the word. We would greatly appreciate your assistance. Just refer people to our website and we will hopefully be able to do the rest. Take care and stay safe.