VIDEO: Calls for help on the water have nearly doubled around Fort De Soto and Tierra Verde in Pinellas County, and now the first responders who answer those calls are getting a boat for water rescues.
"We have the most waterfront property of any area in Pinellas County between all of the beaches,"said Jim Millican, a Division Chief with the Lealman Fire District. Under a contract with the county, the Lealman Fire District staffs firefighters at the Tierra Verde fire station, and they are the first ones to respond to Fort De Soto Beach and areas around Tierra Verde.
Those calls are coming far more frequently.
Between a growing community and tourism, nearly 3 million people visit Fort DeSoto beach every year, and calls for water rescues have more than doubled.