Florida Keys firefighters will help man coronavirus checkpoint
Monroe County firefighters will help staff the Florida Keys COVID-19 checkpoints beginning Monday.
Members of the department will work a total of four 12-hour shifts over a two-week period ending May 18, according to an email from fire-rescue leadership to staff.
The sheriff’s office has staffed and commanded the checkpoints on the 18-mile stretch of U.S. 1 and County Road 905 for the past five weeks. The department has had help from personnel from the county roads department, and public works and facilities management departments.
However, according to the email, sent to firefighters, those departments “are now requesting relief from this assignment.” Kristen Livengood, spokeswoman for Monroe County, said the fire department will send four people to the checkpoints, two for each location, next week. The shifts are from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., according to the email, and the firefighters will be paid overtime.
Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay said days before the checkpoints went up to keep tourists out of the Keys, as part of the county’s strategy to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, that his men and women could not staff the roadblocks without the help of other departments.
From the beginning, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered all state law enforcement not to participate in staffing the posts. However, some investigators with the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office have been working the checkpoints.
The additional county staff also has been helping with support duties like operating and maintaining the generators that run the lights at night; bringing ice, drinks and meals; removing garbage; “and other logistical needs,” according to Livengood.
Incorporated areas of the
Keys including Key West, Marathon, Islamorada and Key Colony Beach have also sent personnel to help out at the checkpoints.
“It definitely really helps relieve some of the stress and burden, and obviously the sheriff’s office appreciates any help it can get from a law enforcement standpoint,” Adam Linhardt, sheriff’s office spokesman, said.
There are other changes at the checkpoint.
This week, county Emergency Management included those who own property in the Keys through a limited liability company among those allowed to pass through the checkpoints.
Before, to enter the Keys, people had to show they either lived in the island chain by having a driver’s license that matched the deed on their home or the utility bill for the home they either own or rent.
Those who own property through an LLC can now apply for a “single use entry permit” from the government or jurisdiction of the area in which the property is located.
The county also is now allowing people with real estate transactions in the Keys to apply for a permit to enter the county.
People covered under the policy include real estate agents, closing attorneys, and settlement and title agencies.