Ambulances, equipment, labor costs pay off for Longboat Key Fire Rescue

Longboat Key Fire Chief Paul Dezzi is particularly proud of one Longboat Key Fire Rescue statistic: a 67% cardiac arrest survival rate in 2025.

“Why is that? It’s because of the training the guys are going through, it’s the personnel that we have, and it’s the equipment that our tax dollars buy for us,” Dezzi said. “That’s this past year, and that will fluctuate depending on the number of patients we have with cardiac arrest, but that means we had four people that were dead when we got there, and they went home alive.”

Although Longboat Key is a small sample size, a 67% cardiac arrest survival rate is notably high. According to American Red Cross, the out-of-hospital national average cardiac arrest survival rate is just 10%.

One thing that sets Longboat Key apart from many other fire departments is that Longboat Key Fire Rescue’s emergency responders are all trained as paramedics rather than emergency medical technicians.

“What that means is that you’re going to get two medics on every single call at a minimum,” Dezzi said.

That comes at a cost. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for EMTs was $41,340 in 2024. For paramedics, the median annual wage in 2024 was $58,410, which is 41% higher than the EMT wage.

In Longboat Key, wages in the fire department have risen year over year, from $2.6 million in fiscal year 2022 to $3.6 million in the 2026 fiscal year. Dezzi said the cost of paying paramedics rather than EMTs is a level-of-service based decision.

Ambulances aren’t cheap either, and costs are rising. Dezzi said ambulances were typically under $300,000 before COVID. Now, quotes for new ambulances are around $400,000.

“We got a call from an ambulance manufacturer last month, and they said there’s a possibility that we may have to increase the cost $30,000. I told them if that’s the case we’ll look at a different type of ambulance,” Dezzi said. “We want the best truck we can get, but if we have to go get another truck that may be comparable, we’ll do that.”

When a new ambulance arrives, it comes bare bones without any necessary equipment. Though equipment can be transferred from old vehicles to new vehicles upon delivery, they do have a lifespan. Stretchers and defibrillators are budgeted for replacement in the town’s five-year capital improvement plan. Each defibrillator costs $75,000 and even stretchers have costs in the five digits.

“It’s ridiculous the cost of stretchers. Just the bed is $15,000,” Dezzi said. “And then, there’s a mechanism inside the truck that helps lift the stretcher up and into the truck. That’s about $20,000. So you’re talking a stretcher system is almost $40,000 now.”

With costs rising, and revenue sources potentially fractioned if property tax reform is approved by voters this fall, Dezzi wants locals to know that the department’s budget is not bloated and budget cuts would likely need to be made.

“What we provide now could change in the future if (property tax reform) were to pass,” Dezzi said. “The Fire Department budget, and I think across the board, we are very prudent in how we deal with our budgets. We look at it, we tear it apart. We only get things we need.”

The ambulance fleet The town of Longboat Key has three ambulances in its Fire Rescue fleet. Two are in service, and one is a reserve.
	Ambulance 1 Manufacturer: Freightliner Built: 2018 Cost: $263,000 Hours logged: 5,218
	Ambulance 2 Manufacturer: Freightliner Built: 2020 Cost: $275,000 Hours logged: 5,118
	Ambulance 3 Manufacturer: Freightliner Built: 2024 Cost: $361,746 Hours logged: 1,090