IN THE SPOTLIGHT – Firefighter Stephen Collison
Firefighter Stephen Collison is still pinching himself, hoping his job at the Boca Grande Fire Department is not a cruel joke. He was hired on April 1, so he’s pretty sure by now it’s no April Fool’s joke.
Steve likes a good laugh and can almost always be found with a smile on his face. He is a naturally happy person. Working for the Boca Grande Fire Department has substantially added to that happiness. It’s not that he was unhappy working for the Sarasota County Fire Department, but this station just fits his sense of community better, he said.
He had been with the Sarasota Department since September of 2021, and before that he was a member of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office for more than 11 years. Public safety and public service are his bedrocks.
“Sarasota is a much bigger department,” he explained. “You could go your whole career and maybe not meet everybody there. I’m a little older and more seasoned. I have kids now, and I kind of like the more ‘get to know everybody’ kind of environment. It is more like a family.”
He went on: “You get to the bigger stations and you bounce all over the place. You’re meeting people every single day, but I never felt that camaraderie, where you know everybody’s strengths and weaknesses, and can help each other out more. That’s kind of what I was looking for when I applied here.”
Steve already knew some of the guys in the Boca Grande station when he decided to try for the position. They had spoken so highly of this department that it sounded like a good fit for him. So he decided to apply when an opening came up.
Just wanting to be a firefighter is not enough to make the cut. Steve explained that there were a number of ways he had to qualify before being accepted as a Boca Grande firefighter. There is a written test, an agility test and an oral interview.
“It’s a process. You have to definitely take it seriously,” Steve admitted. “You can’t just show up and wing it. Since I was already working at Sarasota County, I had a little bit of background. Still, I prepared for two months before I came down. I knew I wanted to come here, and I decided it would probably be my one chance, so I would give it all I’ve got. Fortunately, I was the only one to pass that time.”
He knew this was the place for him before he ever applied for the position. “When I came down here I saw just how much of a community service base and family-oriented department it was. I was, ‘Well, this makes sense. It can’t hurt to at least apply and then try out for it.’ For my family and me, it just made the most sense to move in that direction.” Now he has friends in Sarasota bugging him about openings in Boca Grande.
Indeed, since he was hired, two more firefighters have been added to the Boca Grande staff. (Profiles on them and the Department’s two new administrative staffers will be published later this summer.)
This brings the number of current firefighters in the Boca Grande Department to 18, six in each of three shifts. Steve is a member of C shift. Each person is on call at the station for 24 hours, and then off for 48 hours, and then the system repeats. There is a plan afoot to add three more firefighters to extend the shifts to four people.
Steve said the idea of adding another member to each shift came after the experience of Hurricane Ian.
“It seems the department was pushed to the limits, staffing wise. They see they could use one more person at each shift to provide somebody who can kind of oversee everything, operationally, and then also have the delegation of duties that trickles down. I think it kind of showed them that with six guys, it can get pretty hairy, and maybe if we had just one more person, it could be that much safer for everybody.”
The idea of being on duty for a full 24 hours and then off duty for 48 hours is appealing to Steve. He said it requires a sacrifice to be away from family for 24 hours, but he feels the next 48 hours provide a good long time to make up for the sacrifice.
“I am really home quite a bit,” he said. “More than most people. It gives me more time with the family when I do have the time off. It’s kind of nice.”
That free time gets used by Steve and his family in a number of ways. Sports is a big part of it. His son, Carter, who is eight, is heavily into baseball and golf. His daughter, Olivia, who will soon be six, prefers soccer and gymnastics. Steve and wife Kristen both encourage their kids to play sports and give it their all.
Personally, Steve prefers to focus on exercise and weight training. As a family they like spending time on the water and doing things with family and friends. Family time and traveling are also favorites. Steve’s whole family lives in the Venice area, and getting all the cousins together is fun for all.
The 48-hour off-duty time also allows Steve to pursue his interest in real estate. He appreciates the Department’s openness to staff having “a secondary passion” during off hours. Steve has a partner who can handle client issues that come up when he is on duty, which works out well for everyone involved.
Would Steve recommend firefighting as a career for others? What about for his own kids? “Absolutely!” is his enthusiastic response.
“My daughter wants to do it maybe more than my son at the moment,” he said. “My son is really into baseball and golf, and I am, ‘Hey, go sports all the way if you can.’ I’ll never say no to the athletic stuff; feed the fire. If they are excited about it, let’s go do it. But if they ever chose this path (public safety), it would be cool to see them do the same thing I’ve done.”
He said he would probably push them more to the side of firefighting over law enforcement.
“Law enforcement is just a little more dangerous nowadays,” he said. “It’s a different job from what it used to be.”
He, himself, had to make that decision, and now he has served on both sides of the equation.
“Both are great jobs. My brother and my sister-in-law are both law enforcement officers. They went that route, like me, and now I made the switch. My middle brother works for the Venice Fire Department, so we are all public service-oriented. My father was in the Marine Corps. But for me, I wondered, without going into the military, what could I do locally to serve the community? And that’s kind of what I’ve always liked doing, being out in the public, doing things, helping the community. Being inside, doing the 9 to 5 thing just never caught my attention. I get more fulfillment, I guess is the best way to describe it, by being out and communicating with people.”
At not quite 39 years old, Steve has already spent 13 years in the service of the community. He hopes to continue as a firefighter for at least another 15 years. He works hard to keep his body and mind fit to carry on his chosen work. It is common to see all the Boca Grande firefighters out in the truck bays exercising, drilling, doing simulations and keeping on top of their game.
This team effort is what Steve likes best about the Boca Grande Department.
“The best thing is just being able to work together as a group. I think I’ve always gravitated to that, playing sports and all that. I feel I thrive in those environments where we can work together to solve problems; where we can put our minds together and not just be on our own.”
He said he likes bouncing ideas off other people and coming up with solutions to problems.
“Everybody has a different skill set or knowledge base that can help you make a better decision,” he said. “That has just always been my approach, what I’ve gravitated to. I think just being around each other and working through problems, as well as being out in the public and helping the people out .. .that’s what makes me tick. It makes my feelings of gratitude and fulfillment come about.”
So now he has all of this and paradise as well.
“Who can beat this?” he asked. “You work in paradise, let’s be honest. It’s beautiful, and you come over that bridge every day. It’s good to come to work and be happy with what you’re doing and where you’re at.”
