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Palm Harbor Rescue Team Bound For Wales

Mark Schantz/SUNCOAST NEWS

Chief Jim Angle, far left, and members of the Palm Harbor Fire Rescue Extrication Team, from left, District Chief Dan Zinge and firefighters Rodney Malpass, Doug Zimmerman, Rick Weschler, Mike Harvey and Bill Fisher.

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By Mark  Schantz | The Suncoast News

Published: July 3, 2008

PALM HARBOR -- Six Palm Harbor firefighters can already feel their adrenaline pumping, as they prepare to represent fire and rescue professionals throughout the country.

Next month the Palm Harbor Fire Rescue contingent will compete in the World Rescue Organization's Extrication Challenge. The competition will be held in Cardiff, Wales.

After months of training, "this is our moment in the sun," District Chief Dan Zinge said of the local extrication team members.

"This only happens once, or maybe twice, in a firefighter's life," Zinge said. Firefighters have been training hard under hot and humid conditions to be a well-oiled team that acts with precision, he said.

The item that sets the Palm Harbor extrication unit apart from others is its members put an emphasis on patient care while removing crash victims from twisted wreckage, Zinge said. Two firefighters treat the patient while others quickly free the victim.

Most other departments have just one firefighter remain inside the crushed vehicle with the patient or just concentrate on extrication, Zinge said.

This emphasis on care of the victim is what should really impress the judges at the competition, he said.

Lead by Zinge, the Palm Harbor team – firefighters Bill Fisher, Mike Harvey, Rodney Malpass, Rick Weschler and Doug Zimmerman – will compete against 31 teams from 16 different countries for the world championship in the Welsh capital city.

"It's really an honor." With more than 200 registered extrication teams around the country, Palm Harbor Fire Rescue will be the only one to represent the U.S., said Elizabeth Monforti, a department spokeswoman, said.

Competition will take place July 9 - 12 in Cardiff.

With long stretches of U.S. 19 and Alt. 19 running through their service area, Palm Harbor Fire Rescue firefighters have really had to put their skills into practice many times this year, Monforti said.

All Palm Harbor firefighters are trained in rescue and extrication, so the district will be well protected in the team's absence, she added.

Fire Chief James Angle said the department is proud of its specialized extrication team.

As evidence of that pride, Palm Harbor Fire Control District officials decided to spare the team while making spending cuts. Because of property tax rate cuts ordered by the state, the district expects to lose about $840,000 for its 2009 fiscal year.

The Palm Harbor Fire Rescue budget for fiscal 2008, which ends Sept. 30, is $10.02 million. Its major source of operating funds for the current budget year is $8.26 million in property tax revenue.

The department will make up for the expected loss of tax revenue by not filling a fire marshal position left vacant through a retirement and making cuts in other areas that will not affect operations, Angle said.

The bright red uniforms the team wears in competition were donated, he noted.

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