Local supporter
After years of diligent teamwork, that old Burglars Blvd. was chosen as the northern end of the A1A Scenic & Historical Coastal Byway. In 2002, the U.S. Department of Transportation designated this corridor as one of America’s National Byways for its “breath-taking views and wildlife, including 50 endangered species”. The A1A Super Scenic Garage Sale is happening next month. That is a big fundraiser for us. Bring your donations and then come shopping.
I don’t have time to tell you all the fires and emergencies our volunteers tackled. But I will tell you this one. The year after the building was finished, SPVA piled into it for a Christmas party. They barely got started when a fire call came in from the north. It spread quickly and scorched 600 acres of Guana. SPVA and five other fire stations, with a total of 75 firefighters, spent eight hours putting it out just in time to save South Ponte Vedra houses. When the SPVA crew came in for breaks, the Christmas party food was still all there waiting for them.
After five years of squeezing into people’s carports, SPVA was thrilled to attend their first meeting in their own building in June 1977. It was standing room only.
The county fire coordinator found SPVA a used fire truck in Maryland for $2,500. He and his wife even drove to pick it up and bring it to South Ponte Vedra. But SPVA still had no garage for it. Luckily, Sawgrass Country Club agreed to protect it until SPVA had a proper facility.
SPVA president Bruce Bullock also asked the communities south of South Ponte Vedra for help. They contributed money, labor, and volunteer firefighters. One of those good Vilano neighbors was Bill Long. He just joined SPVCA and is here tonight. Thank you for your help back then, Bill. One year after Emory wrote the county about the lack of fire protection, he joined all the volunteers and contributors at the ground-breaking ceremony for the South Ponte Vedra Fire Department.
More money came in thanks to letters and phone calls made by the fundraising committee, including our own Lea Lent. A Vilano resident donated a needlepoint pillow, which got raffled off. They raised $8,000 in six months.
When Emory had looked for somewhere to put a fire station with a tiny budget, he contacted SWD, the company that owned Guana. He asked very nicely if SPVA could lease a patch of land for a fire station. SWD offered a patch of land with water service for one dollar per year, and they sent SPVA a check for $1,000 to help with the fire department. The Usinas cleared the land for free and let SPVA borrow their heavy equipment.
The fire protection tax bill put a few more dollars in the county fire fund, but SPVA couldn’t access it unless they already had a fire department. 125 members pledged their financial support. They elected Emory Torrey as Chairman of the Fire Prevention Committee and gave him a $750 budget to start.
The county commission held a public hearing. South Ponte Vedra residents said that their wood-frame houses will burn up before the nearest fire department can reach them. Commissioner Wiles proposed a tax increase to support volunteer fire departments. North Ponte Vedra residents argued they already paid for their own support and shouldn’t have to pay for new communities who aren’t as organized. SPVA president Bruce Bullock said, “We now have good fire protection as long as we don’t have a fire.”
SPVA member Emory Torrey was installing monitored fire alarms on his new house when he learned there was no fire service to call if the alarm goes off. He wrote to County Commissioner Herbie Wiles that he never dreamed such an affluent area would lack such a basic necessity. He offered his services to help rectify the situation.
Inna Heilman wrote in her 1991 book, “Today we take for granted that we have a fire station. The fact is that South Ponte Vedra only has a fire station thanks to the SOUTH PONTE VEDRA ASSOCIATION! We addressed the need long before the County realized its obligation.”