Union Warns Disney World Fire Department Is Understaffed
The administrator for that local government, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, disagrees and accused the union of airing concerns in the media to increase pressure as it negotiates a new contract.
June 03, 2019 at 02:23 PM
4 minute read
Firefighters for Walt Disney World's private government say they're understaffed and that poses a safety risk as the Florida theme park resort grows even bigger with this year's openings of a new Star Wars land and air gondolas.
“We just don't have enough firefighters on property to make these families and visitors safe,” said Timothy Stromsnes, president of the Reedy Creek Professional Firefighters, Local 2117, which represents the firefighters working for Disney's private government.
The administrator for that local government, the Reedy Creek Improvement District, disagrees and accused the union of airing concerns in the media to increase pressure as it negotiates a new contract. The firefighter's contract expired at the end of last year.
“Safety is of utmost importance, which is why we are always focused on the district being a safe place and are confident we provide appropriate levels of fire and medical services,” Reedy Creek Improvement District administrator John Classe said in an email Wednesday.
He wouldn't comment further.
Disney World spokeswoman Andrea Finger said the safety of guests and employees is a core focus of the resort.
At any given moment, 32 Reedy Creek firefighters are working a 24-hour shift on the 25,000-acre (10,117-hectare) Disney World property. But that's not enough for the number of people who visit the theme park resort, said Stromsnes, adding that there should be an additional 16 firefighters on a shift, at a minimum.
By next year, Disney World is forecast to have as many as 143,000 guests each night at its more than two dozen hotels and up to 153,000 daily visitors at its four theme parks and two water parks. Add a workforce of more than 70,000 employees, and the resort, which is the geographic size of the city of San Francisco, could host anywhere from 215,000 to almost 360,000 people on any given day, according to planning documents from the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
That's roughly on par with the residential population of Pittsburgh, St. Louis or Cincinnati. But the Reedy Creek firefighters face challenges different from fire departments in those cities. While they help patrons with heat-related illnesses, rescue passengers from car accidents and respond to hotel fire alarms, they also help put out the periodic dragon fire, and they are summoned when the occasional vacation turns tragic.
The National Fire Protection Association says in a March 2019 research report there is no defined standard for a proper ratio between firefighters and residents. The median reported ratio for communities between 250,000 and 500,000 residents was 1.14 firefighters per 1,000 people, according to the report.
With a total of 145 firefighters, Reedy Creek's ratio would be 0.67 firefighters per 1,000 people if there were at least 215,000 people on the property on any given day. The actual daily number fluctuates, given the transient nature of tourists.
The Reedy Creek Improvement District, a quasi-private, special-purpose government, is controlled by Disney. It was created in 1967 when then-Florida Gov. Claude Kirk signed legislation authorizing it to regulate land use, enforce building codes, treat wastewater, control drainage, maintain utilities and provide fire protection at Disney World.
Such private governments aren't uncommon in fast-growing Florida, which has more than 600 community development districts that manage and pay for infrastructure in new communities.
Walt Disney had originally envisioned building a futuristic, planned city on the Florida property, but those plans were abandoned after his death in 1966.
A lack of a built-in constituency in the district puts the firefighters at a disadvantage since there are no residents putting political pressure on the government to increase staffing, said Sean Pierce, vice president of the firefighters' local union.
Mike Schneider reports for the Associated Press.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All'It's a Great Day to Be a Gator Lawyer': UF Takes Top Spot on Bar Exam
Dear Dan: Blunt Advice From Top Law Firms About Legal Recruiters—Part Two
Facing Overcapacity, Law Firms Made Fewer Offers for 2024 Summer Associates
6 minute readDemand for Associates, Down Earlier This Year, Appears to Be on the Rise
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Trump's Solicitor General Expected to 'Flip' Prelogar's Positions at Supreme Court
- 2Pharmacy Lawyers See Promise in NY Regulator's Curbs on PBM Industry
- 3Outgoing USPTO Director Kathi Vidal: ‘We All Want the Country to Be in a Better Place’
- 4Supreme Court Will Review Constitutionality Of FCC's Universal Service Fund
- 5'It Refreshes Me': King & Spalding Privacy Leader Doubles as Equestrian Champ
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250