SPRING HILL FIRE RESCUE & EMS DISTRICT HISTORY

On April 30, 1967 Spring Hill became a community.

On June 5, 1968, the Spring Hill Civic Club was created.  Shortly thereafter the club formed its objectives and set off to make Spring Hill an enjoyable living community.  One of the club’s first accomplishments was the dedication of Pioneer Park , but perhaps its most significant achievement was the creation of the Spring Hill Fire Department.

In December 1968 the Spring Hill Civic Club donated $75 for a Fire Department Budget and $35 for a charter, and in January of 1969 the Spring Hill Volunteer Fire Department was created.  A sign was put up at Pioneer Park to attract volunteers to join the newly formed department, and preparations were made to accommodate the new firefighters who would serve the community.

In the spring of 1970, the first fire station was opened: a 2-bay Volunteer Fire Station on Parker Ave , near Spring Hill Drive .  The first fire truck was a 1946 2 ½ Ton International Military Crash Truck.  The first ambulance was a 1956 Cadillac donated by Ernie Chatman of Chatman Buick-Pontiac.

Since Spring Hill was a newly built community, there were only a couple of fire calls the first year.  The first fire the department fought was a newly built ranch house in Aripeka.  It was a minor fire and the home was unoccupied, but it stands as the beginning of the SHFR era.  The first fire within the limits of Spring Hill was a small residential fire that was quickly brought under control and the house was saved.  The Spring Hill Fire Department was making its mark in Hernando County .  

In January of 1974, after a special referendum election, the Spring Hill Fire Department became the Spring Hill Fire & Rescue District.  This created a special fire taxing district as voted by the citizens, making SHFR the first and only government entity of Spring Hill.

In February of 1974, the State of Florida required that Ambulances be staffed around the clock with Emergency Medical Technicians.  The District decided to hire both EMTs and more advanced Paramedics. At a succeeding public election, the one-time volunteer department was officially voted to become a paid District.

Nicholas Ruggiero, Jim Lindberg and Greg Storey were hired as the first paid Spring Hill firefighters, with Ruggiero serving as Fire Chief.  The Spring Hill fire station was staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with one person always on duty.  Within a year three more firefighters were hired and rotating shifts were created so that there were always 2 members on duty.  The shifts rotated 24 hours on, 24 hours off, 24 hours on and 48 hours off.  Spring Hill now had full-time professional Fire Service.

One of the seminal accomplishments of the new District was the "hydro program."  Before this program there were no fire hydrants in Spring Hill, and therefore no reliable water supply existed.  It took three years to phase in the program. The first phase established hydrants in the most populated areas, with the rest of the community following suit until completion some time after 1976.  Currently, Spring Hill Fire Rescue District has over 2,000 Fire Hydrants.  All have been plotted by GPS and converted to maps by the Hernando County GIS Department, and are always readily available to be utilized.

In 1976 the second Spring Hill fire station was constructed.  Station 2 was built by volunteers on Mitzi Court near Deltona Boulevard .  Mitzi Court was later renamed Bob Hartung Court to honor the District pioneer, 11 year Fire Commissioner and 8 year Fire Commission Chairman.

Two more Fire Stations have been built since 1976.  Station 3, located at

Spring Hill Drive and Whitewood Avenue was constructed in 1985.  Station 4, located on Mariner Boulevard across from St. Francis Cabrini Church, was constructed in 1991 and dedicated in the memory of Firefighter James Winters who died while training at the State Fire College in Ocala on December 20, 1990. The Administration building, located next to Station 2, was constructed in 1986 on the site formerly used for training burns.

The shoulder patch insignia that is worn by all Spring Hill Firefighters was designed by Communications Officer Anna Dietz between June of 1989 and March of 1990.  The patch is a Gold Maltese Cross with an open center which depicts a firefighter in full bunker gear with flames rising in the background.  Adjacent to this image, on the left wing of the Cross is the blue Star of Life with Caduceus, and on the right wing are a pike pole, ladder and pick axe crossed over each other to form an "X."  Above the central image are the words “SPRING HILL” and below are the words “FIRE RESCUE,” all in red lettering.  This simple patch represents our fundamental dedication and commitment to the Spring Hill community.

The most recent major step in SHFR’s evolution occurred on June 11, 2009 when Governor Charlie Christ signed HB 1147, officially creating an independent Spring Hill Fire Rescue and Emergency Medical Services District.

Spring Hill Fire Rescue has grown from a small handful of volunteers with one truck, one tanker and an ambulance, to a Fire District of over 100 total personnel, 90+ active firefighters including the Chief and Assistant Chief, an Urban Search and Rescue Team, a Hazardous Materials Response Team, 4 Class ‘A’ ALS Firefighter/Paramedic Engines, an ALS Firefighter/Paramedic Ladder Truck, 4 ALS Firefighter/Paramedic Ambulances, 1 BLS EMT Ambulance, 1 Brush Truck, and 1 Hazardous Materials Vehicle.  As Spring Hill continues to grow, so will its Fire District: Always looking to better and more efficiently serve and protect the citizens entrusted to our care.

Spring Hill Fire Chiefs:

Joe Wolf ......................................        1969 - 1974

Nicholas Ruggiero .......................      February 1, 1974 - September 15, 1985

Robert Lani ..................................       December 2, 1985 - January 12, 1987

Donald Patterson .........................      October 1, 1987 - May 21, 1995

Michael Morgan ...........................      June 16, 1995 - November 2001

John J. Morrison ..........................       November 2001 - February 15, 2008

Michael Rampino .........................      January 14, 2009 -