Osceola County Fire Rescue & EMS (OSCFR) is the county-operated firefighting and emergency medical services agency serving Osceola County, Florida—covering roughly 1,506 square miles and a population nearing 390,000 residents. Currently at 18 stations and counting.
Osceola County Fire Rescue is a promising fire department plagued by systemic culture issues and abysmal upper echelon leadership.
The fire chief, Larry Collier, is egotistical, vindictive, and out of touch with his department.
Administration, driven by the chief, has been consumed with the addition of a heavy rescue and advancing special ops programs while ignoring the growing staffing issues and overtime budget issues within these circles. Training for special operations has been steadily rising while training for non specialized fire companies has all but disappeared.
This department has not completed a live burn since COVID.
This department had 2 maydays during December of 2024. No major injuries occurred as a result. No training was conducted to prevent the future occurrence of such issues.
There are fantastic firemen at this department and morale varies within based on position and station. Poor morale stems from lack of consistency from management and a union that continues to push for contracts benefiting the officer level and up.
Poor morale is also currently influenced by a newer medical director who is head hunting medics who do not meet her ever evolving standard which she will not put in writing.
Frontline trucks are decent (0-7 years old)
Reserve trucks are horrendous, with some pushing 20+ years old and unsafe.
Fleet is not owned by the fire department and as a result fire trucks remain out of service while fleet has to spread resources between all county vehicles and the fire department.
Equipment procurement is slow.
In summary this department has great potential if there is a major administrative leadership change and union leadership change.
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1 Review on “Osceola County Fire Rescue”
Osceola County Fire Rescue is a promising fire department plagued by systemic culture issues and abysmal upper echelon leadership.
The fire chief, Larry Collier, is egotistical, vindictive, and out of touch with his department.
Administration, driven by the chief, has been consumed with the addition of a heavy rescue and advancing special ops programs while ignoring the growing staffing issues and overtime budget issues within these circles. Training for special operations has been steadily rising while training for non specialized fire companies has all but disappeared.
This department has not completed a live burn since COVID.
This department had 2 maydays during December of 2024. No major injuries occurred as a result. No training was conducted to prevent the future occurrence of such issues.
There are fantastic firemen at this department and morale varies within based on position and station. Poor morale stems from lack of consistency from management and a union that continues to push for contracts benefiting the officer level and up.
Poor morale is also currently influenced by a newer medical director who is head hunting medics who do not meet her ever evolving standard which she will not put in writing.
Frontline trucks are decent (0-7 years old)
Reserve trucks are horrendous, with some pushing 20+ years old and unsafe.
Fleet is not owned by the fire department and as a result fire trucks remain out of service while fleet has to spread resources between all county vehicles and the fire department.
Equipment procurement is slow.
In summary this department has great potential if there is a major administrative leadership change and union leadership change.