30 year awards
On July 21 2022 Southern Manatee Fire and Rescue awarded Lt. Melvin Bonds and Cpt. Adam Chevalier certificates and ribbons for 30 years of service with the department. Please join us in congratulating Lt. Bonds and Cpt. Chevalier on this achievement. [gallery...
Chihuahua rescue
On 04/20/2022 SMFR “A” shift was dispatched to a working structure fire in the Briarwood subdivision. All occupants were out of the structure, but the family pet was not located during the evacuation. Crews made entry and while one crew was battling the fire the...
New Hires
Southern Manatee Fire Rescue would like to announce the hiring of 5 new firefighters. The new hires are filling vacancies created as a result of recent retirements and internal promotions. Firefighter/Paramedic Luis Penarenas Firefighter/Paramedic Justin Woods...
Promotion of Paul Wojcik
Southern Manatee Fire Rescue would like to congratulate Paul Wojcik on his promotion to Inspector. The administration looks forward to this newest addition to the Prevention Bureau and knows Paul will do an outstanding job. Please join us in congratulating Inspector...
Retirement of Larry Betts
Southern Manatee Fire Rescue would like to congratulate Larry Betts on his retirement. We would like to thank Larry for his 19 years of service to the citizens of Manatee County.
Promotion of Steve Hodges
Southern Manatee Fire Rescue would like to congratulate Steve Hodges on his promotion to Lieutenant. Please join us in congratulating Lieutenant Hodges on his promotion.
Promotion of Adam Chevalier
Southern Manatee Fire Rescue would like to congratulate Adam Chevalier on his promotion to Logistics Captain. This position, being new to our organization will report directly to the Assistant Chief and will be primarily responsible for supervising, monitoring, and...
Promotion of Sam Collins
Southern Manatee Fire Rescue would like to congratulate Sam Collins on his promotion to Lieutenant. Please join us in congratulating Lieutenant Collins on his promotion.
Retirement of Ken Reed
Southern Manatee Fire Rescue would like to congratulate Ken Reed on his retirement. We would like to thank Kenny for his 33 years of service to the citizens of Manatee County.
Promotion of Chuck Moonen
Southern Manatee Fire Rescue would like to congratulate Chuck Moonen on his promotion to Inspector. The administration looks forward to this newest addition to the Prevention Bureau and knows Chuck will do an outstanding job. Please join us in congratulating...
Southern Manatee Fire Rescue launches its new ALS response vehicle.
With the promotion of Dan Anderson to Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Officer his vehicle became licensed by the State of Florida as an Advanced Life Support (ALS) response unit. EMS Officer Anderson and his immediate supervisor Training Chief Bobby Thayer will...
Promotion of Dan Anderson
Southern Manatee Fire Rescue would like to congratulate Dan Anderson on his promotion to EMS Officer. This position will report directly to the Training Chief and will be primarily responsible for all EMS training, paramedic and EMT alike, quality management,...
New employees join SMFR
We are pleased to introduce the newest additions to the Southern Manatee Fire Rescue family. Firefighter Paramedic Christopher McKinniss and Firefighter Paramedic Easton Evans both joined us in the 3rd quarter of 2021.
Southern Manatee Fire Rescue promotes two employees
The Southern Manatee Fire Rescue District is pleased to announce the promotion of Deputy Chief of Operations Ricardo Blanco to the position of Assistant Chief and Training Captain Robert Thayer to the position of Training Chief. These individuals have shown...
Southern Manatee Fire Rescue recognizes 8 employees with an accumulative total of 238 years.
The Southern Manatee Fire Rescue District is presenting the following personal with ribbons and plaques to recognize there years of service. Inspector Kenneth Reed – 25 Years of Service Inspector Ronald Washington – 38 Years of Service Battalion Chief Chris Gould – 30...
Drug Free Manatee PSA
On May 10th, 2021 at approximately 8:30pm, Southern Manatee Fire Rescue partnered with Drug Free Manatee to create a PSA video. Ladder 339, ALS Engine 341, Battalion 3, Alpha 7, and SMFR Training Division created a crash scene where we extricated a driver from a...
Life Saving Award
On May 20, 2021 Southern Manatee Fire Rescue awarded the Life Saving Award to Felix Tacoronte. On March 27, 2021 units were dispatched to a pediatric near drowning. The child was reportedly submerged for over one minute. Felix Tacoronte was a bystander at the pool...
Retirement of Fire Marshal Leslie Adent
On Wednesday March 31, 2021 Southern Manatee Fire Rescue District honored Fire Marshal Leslie Adent’s 31 years of service to the District. Leslie was one of the last firefighters from the Oneco-Tallevast Fire Department that eventually merged with Tallevast FD to...
Promotion of Deputy Fire Marshal Frank Meola
On Thursday March 13, 2021 Southern Manatee Fire Rescue District promoted Frank Meola to the position of Deputy Fire Marshal. Frank has served over 16 years with SMFR as an experienced firefighter and inspector. Congratulations to Deputy Fire Marshal Meola. [gallery...
Sozo’s Ministries
On Thursday, January 21, 2021, Lieutenant Derek Foss, DVP for Local 2546 and Chief Officers from the Department presented a check for $3000.00 to Dwayne “Bishop” Freeze of Sozo’s Ministries. This organization's main focus is to get kids off the streets and into more a...