OKEECHOBEE — Okeechobee County Fire Rescue Chief Justin Hazellief gave a quarterly report to the Okeechobee City Council on Oct. 20 during the regular council meeting.

According to Hazellief, OCFR responded to 427 calls in the city during the last quarter, which, like last quarter, is down from last year’s numbers. After speaking to Raulerson Hospital, St. Lucie County Fire Rescue and Lawnwood Hospital, the conclusion is that people are traveling less due to fuel prices. “There’s really no other rational indication we can come up with,” he said.

Not only do the crews respond to fires and automobile accidents, but OCFR is responsible for inspections, re-inspections and business tax receipts.

Hazellief said one of the things he is most proud of is that response times are down again. This quarter, they were 4.38 minutes within the city limits. “So that is down every quarter and substantially down from the third quarter of last year.”

Hazellief credits his crews for this. “I gave them a goal, and they have taken it on full force to expedite those calls..

He explained they made some changes so that if one truck is out and is closer, they take the call. It seems like an obvious thing, he said. “It takes a conscious effort for that to happen because they might be leaving the hospital and have to realize this puts them a minute ahead of a truck that has to come out of the station. So they have been doing that and doing it well.”

He said they have been looking at some new and innovative ways to make this happen. Dispatchers are able to look at maps and determine which truck is closest. Having the ability to change traffic lights from green to red or vice versa has also been a huge help.

Hazellief also spoke about fire inspections, risk reduction, and community development and said Jessica Palmer has developed a passion for this and has been to several conferences focused on these topics. She has been working on multiple events including fire extinguisher training, CPR events, community education, and getting the community into the fire stations.

“These events can save lives,” said Hazellief. “I have about 50 folks working for my department at any given time, and thanks to the various trainings, there are another 42,000 in the community who can save a life. So, if we can help them to know how to do that, they’re going to be there way faster than we are. If they are already there, we can prevent an emergency before it happens. That’s one of our goals.”

OCFR is also working with Tradition and Lawnwood on becoming patient destinations for certain criteria such as OB, trauma, stroke, and cardiac patients. “Raulerson Hospital is a wonderful partner, and they are working with me on this, so this is not a dig at them at all.” However, there are some patients that are beyond Raulerson’s capabilities, and if OCFR can make the decision on the road, they can get the patient to where they need to be much faster.

He was quick to say that patients will not be able to request the hospital they prefer. It will be based on their medical needs.

The next report will be even more thorough, said Hazellief, because it will finish out the 2026 calendar year.