Recent crashes cost Jacksonville an average of $1.5M a year
FirefighterNation Staff
JACKSONVILLE, Florida — With 31 crashes in one week involving Jacksonville fire and police vehicles, city leaders expressed concerns about safety according to News4JAX.
Investigative reporters found that of those 31 crashes, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was involved in 27 and at fault for 17 of those.
Jacksonville Fire-Rescue was involved in seven additional crashes and at fault for five.
54 sheriff’s office vehicles are out of service as are 22 fire-rescue vehicles.
Last year News4JAX reported that crashes involving city vehicles cost taxpayers an average of over $1.5 million each year.
Chris Hancock, Public Information Officer for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said that the crashes are a hazard of the job and emphasized that training before driving a vehicle is a priority.
Interim Fire Chief Keith Powers said that every accident is subjected to extreme scrutiny and reviewed to determine cause and identify need for driver improvement.
