Zephyrhills Fire Officially Turns Over Operations To Pasco County

ZEPHYRHILLS, FL — It was a bittersweet moment as members of the Zephyrhills Fire Department replaced the rescue squad's logos on their fire rescue vehicles with new logos announcing the fire department has been taken over by Pasco County Fire Rescue.

The Zephyrhills Fire Department is in the process of finalizing the transition from being a city department to part of a countywide rescue service as its long-planned merger with Pasco County Fire Rescue is completed.

After years of struggling to maintain funding for the fire department without assessing residents and businesses, the Zephyrhills City Council unanimously voted in July 2019 to have Pasco County take over the operations.

The merger includes transferring ownership of the Zephyrhills Fire Department fire trucks and other apparatus along with the city's two fire stations at 38410 6th Ave. and 6907 Dairy Road to Pasco County.

The departments are also in the process of integrating computers, radios and handing out new uniforms to the 24 Zephyrhills firefighters who will become Pasco County crew members starting Sunday when the merger is official.

Pasco County Fire Chief Scott Cassin welcomes the new firefighters to Pasco County Fire Rescue.

"We recognize the contributions that Zephyrhills Fire gave to their community for over 100 years and thank Zephyrhills residents for their trust in Pasco County Fire Rescue. We are grateful for the support the community of Zephyrhills shows their fire department, and we are honored to welcome them into our family and excited to start another proud chapter in Zephyrhills history," he said.

He added that the merger will give Zephyrhills residents increased staffing levels at their fire stations, along with two ambulances stationed inside the city limits, increasing response times in Zephyrhills and on the east side of Pasco County.

That history dates back to 1915 when the city council purchased the department's first fire truck for $100. To learn more about the fire department's history, click here.

Video courtesy Pasco County Fire