Orange County Firefighter Union calling for safety improvements after Apopka Firefighter’s death

APOPKA, Fla. — The Orange County Firefighters Association is pushing to make safety a priority and calling for change after an Apopka firefighter died on the job.

>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<

They’ll address the issues of safety and higher pay at a budget meeting being held by the Apopka City Council Monday evening.

READ: Florida is now picking its social studies textbooks, but how does the process work?

Union representatives plan to ask city leaders to reconfigure their budget to include funding for a dedicated Health and and Safety Officer.

The department currently has a Health and Safety Officer, but that person also has several other roles and the union worries they may be stretched too thin.

According to the union, more than half the firefighters in the department have five years experience or less on the job. 75-percent of the Special Operations team has even less, and most haven’t been in the role before this.

READ: Osceola County School District launching new program meant to improve safety for bus riders

Union President Alex Keppler hopes that adding a dedicated Health and Safety Officer, as well as a training officer, will prevent something like what happened to Austin Duran from ever happening again.

“We owe him change,” Keppler said. “We owe him to make sure there’s not another one, and we’ll do whatever it takes.”

Apopka City Council officials have declined to comment on the union’s requests, saying they want to hear directly from the firefighters themselves first.

READ: Investigation reveals how two boys escaped the Orange County Regional Juvenile Detention Center

The budget meeting began at 5 p.m. Click here to watch live.

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

©2022 Cox Media Group