Broward County, FL, October 31, 2001- The Broward County Commission will decide next week whether Broward County’s fire-rescue department can join with the Broward Sheriff’s Office to form a county public safety department.
The fire-rescue department’s jurisdiction has been shrinking as a result of unincorporated land’s being annexed into cities. The department’s union, Local 3333, has proposed that the department’s 350 members become part of the Sheriff’s Office. If the merger plan is approved, the police and fire organizations would remain separate entities, but the firefighters would come under the sheriff’s management.
