STUART — Emergency response times in Stuart and across Martin County could improve under a new interlocal agreement between the city and county fire rescue departments that allows the closest available unit to respond to calls, regardless of jurisdiction.
The updated agreement replaces a previous arrangement that primarily relied on “closest echo” calls, which typically involved life-threatening emergencies such as cardiac arrest.
Stuart Fire Chief Vincent Felicione said the new approach expands that concept across all emergency responses throughout the county.
“And that’s countywide, so whether you’re in the city or the county’s jurisdiction, it will be the closest unit, irregardless of the agency,” Felicione said.
The agreement also removes financial reimbursements between the agencies for response calls, a change officials said simplifies cooperation between the departments.
“Obviously, the next biggest thing is no money. So there’s no money being exchanged,” Felicione said.
At a Martin County Commission meeting in March, Martin County Fire Rescue Chief Chad Cianciulli said the previous system did not go far enough to protect residents because dispatchers cannot always determine the severity of a situation based solely on a phone call.
The updated agreement comes after Stuart expanded to three fire stations, reducing the city’s reliance on county coverage and paving the way for new negotiations between the departments.
“This is the best agreement for the city residents. The county residents takes us back pre-2021, which is a good thing,” Felicione said.
Stuart Commissioner Campbell Rich praised the agreement during discussions on the measure, calling it a positive step for residents throughout the area.
“In some ways, this is easy because the number one priority is to act in a manner that provides the greatest degree of safety to our residents,” Rich said. “And so when that is kept in mind primarily, then we can come to what seems to be a very beneficial agreement for all of us and all our residents. So thank you, Chief.”