Why The FMB Fire Department is a “People Department”

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(By Chief Matt Love) Hello Beach Community! I hope this finds you and your family safe, healthy, and enjoying your summer. On behalf of the Fort Myers Beach Fire Department, we are honored to provide you regular updates through this publication. A special thank you to Ed and Kim Ryan for inviting us to join in and provide our community with a wide spectrum of information.

Our plan is to use this opportunity to keep you informed about our organization, things going on in your community regarding public safety, and a variety of fire and life safety messages. In addition, and possibly the most important of all, our desire is to report some positive and inspiring messages of community activity, hope, and leadership!

Over the years it has become abundantly clear that our community enjoys the value of staying informed and having multiple sources to receive information. Though our population is made up of individuals from incredibly diverse backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs, we all share a love for the amazing place we live. This seems to feed our desire to be “in the know” and care about what is going on in our community, as well as how it affects the people we care about.

I have had the great opportunity to meet so many of our community members. As your Fire Chief, I have found comfort in our community’s passion and vigor for involvement, coupled with a comfortable island atmosphere. For those of you I have not had the opportunity to meet yet, please know how passionate your fire department is about adding community value.

It is because of this value-added philosophy, your fire department focuses on so much more than just fire. The Fort Myers Beach Fire Department is a “People Department”, responding to and supporting members of our community and visitors in need. Evolved from the days of the “cat in the tree” response, fire departments have transformed into “all hazard” organizations. Operational services provided include the traditional structure fire suppression, paramedic level emergency medical response, advanced life support ambulance transport, hazardous materials mitigation, specialty rescue capabilities, brush and wildland fire suppression, and much more.

In addition, there is a whole other side of the fire department dedicated to what happens before the big red trucks go out the door. Our Life Safety Division is essentially focused on preventing our community from needing emergency response. I look forward to highlighting many of these services in future installments.

Our organization takes pride in this multifaceted response model. Our training in response to community needs is not simply built around isolated scenarios, but problem solving strategy and tactics. Our team of highly trained, dedicated, compassionate problem solvers is equipped to handle just about any instance put before us, not to mention responding quickly!

As my word count in this first installment nears its maximum, there are many more items I look forward to sharing with you about your fire department. In addition, a great deal of information can be found on our website at www.FMBFire.org. Finally, if you have any questions or there is something we can help you with, please give us a call and let us know how we can deliver excellence in service to you.

Make it a safe and encouraging day,

Matthew R. Love
Fire Chief
Fort Myers Beach Fire Department

 Matt Love has been the Fort Myers Beach Fire Chief since 2016. In 2019 he was selected by the Fire Chiefs’ Association of Lee County Florida as Fire Chief of the Year. He can be reached at the fire department at 239- 590-4200