By Michael N. Ciampo
The Village of Estero, located on Florida’s Gulf Coast in Lee County, was once an area rich in growing citrus crops. Now it has transformed into a vibrant and beautiful community of year-round residents and “snowbirds” flocking to the south to escape the harsh winter months. Nestled between Ft. Myers to the north and Naples to the south, Estero really didn’t see massive growth until the late 1970s into the 1980s. Then Interstate 75 was completed, and the Southwest Florida International Airport opened, bringing more people into the area. Originally, Lee County contracted fire protection to the area from Ft. Myers which is almost 20 miles away. In 1964, Estero Precinct 12 Volunteer Fire Company 1 was set up and raised money all through donations to provide fire protection; the department had no authority to tax residents for equipment or apparatus. In 1976, the State of Florida divided Lee County into Fire Districts, and Estero Fire Protection & Rescue Services was established and covers a 56-square-mile slice of the southern portion of the county.
In the early 1980s the department hired a paid chief and then three paid firefighters in 1985. By the mid 1990s, the department had 11 full-time firefighters, a training officer, and chief. Unfortunately, growth continued in the county, but Estero was not growing as fast as other areas. In light of this, a fire chief thought that contracting through a private firm to provide services and salary would be the answer to financial issues in the county. In a move not commonly occurring in the fire service but not unheard of, upon returning from a training exercise, the members of the department found out their services were no longer needed. A private firm (Wackenhut) was hired to provide protection to the area. Unfortunately, a firefighter from that company was killed at a brush fire, the fire chief was caught stealing picket signs, and board members resigned because they hadn’t followed Florida laws; this was a low point in the history of this department. However, the department rebounded and hired all members released and, in 1998, was renamed Estero Fire Rescue. Today the department is full of robust chiefs, officers, and firefighters who take training, tool complement, and apparatus seriously and provide excellent protection to the citizens and visitors in the district.
Estero Fire Rescue currently operates out of four stations with two Stuphen engines, two 75-foot Stuphen quints, two rescues (Suburban’s staffed with two firefighters), three brush fire units, one 23-foot fire boat, one 3,000 gallon tender, an air and light mobile trailer, and one Honda side-by-side utility vehicle. The department also has three apparatus used as reserves: one engine, a rear mounted tower ladder ,and one quint. Station 43 is known as the Three Oaks Station as it sits on Three Oaks Parkway, as does the administrative building and staff of Estero Fire Rescue. It houses Engine 43 which is a 2013 Sutphen Monarch rescue-pumper and currently hosts a Lee County Paramedic Unit.
Engine 43 is set up like a rescue-pumper, which carries a cache of rescue tools and the department’s USAR equipment and components. The unit is powered by a Cummins engine and has an Alli