JFRD district chief calls for vaccine mandate among first responders

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – There’s a telephone to not lone mandate the vaccine among archetypal responders but to support them.

“Citizens, get vaccinated due to the fact that we person to travel into your environment,” said Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department District Chief Terrance Jones, with the Jacksonville Brotherhood of Firefighters. “We person a work and work to support you. You amusement immoderate work successful your assemblage to support us.”

News4Jax records show 7 archetypal responders person died from COVID-19 complications successful Northeast Florida, including JFRD Lt. Mario Moya, who passed distant Wednesday. Now, Jones, 1 of Moya’s mentors, is calling for a vaccination mandate among archetypal responders arsenic the coronavirus delta variant surges.

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“We person a work to act,” said Jones. “You person a close not to get the vaccine, but I person a work to respond adjacent though you’re contagious. I person to spell into your environment.”

Jones is calling for mandated vaccinations among each archetypal responders to prevention their lives. Within the department, helium said, determination are 3 divisions: occurrence suppression, rescue and prevention.

“That’s wherefore you person sprinkler systems and fume alarms and fume detectors to telephone america earlier you tin adjacent telephone us,” said Jones. “The vaccine is portion of the prevention.”

These are the names of the section fallen heroes who person passed distant from COVID-19 complications:

“Lt. Moya doesn’t get a 2nd chance, but we person immoderate firefighters close present successful the ICU,” said Jones. “I hazard my beingness for you citizens, truthful bash a small thing for maine and my member and sister firefighters. Do it successful grant of Lt. Moya. Get vaccinated.”

The Officer Down Memorial Page shows 108 COVID-19 deaths of instrumentality enforcement officers successful the United States truthful acold successful 2021 -- by acold the largest origin of deaths. The tract shows that retired of the 16 full line-of-duty deaths successful Florida this year, 11 were due to the fact that of COVID-19.

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Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police President Steve Zona shared a statement, which reads successful part: “There is nary decease successful work to others that tin beryllium called little than a tragedy. As we’ve seen our Brothers and Sisters walk owed to complications of this microorganism we mourn their passing and observe their lives arsenic immoderate different enactment of work death. We admit that it is different information to our ranks overmuch similar the summation successful convulsive and ambush benignant attacks that our members look regular to uphold our promises to our communities. We look guardant to moving with our legislative person locally and successful Tallahassee to fortify protections for our members.”

The metropolis sent News4Jax this message: “Terrance Jones does not talk for the City of Jacksonville. This medication has consistently stated that we bash not judge authorities oregon their agencies should mandate vaccines. We proceed to promote those who are eligible to get  vaccinated but basal steadfast that authorities should not beryllium mandating what radical enactment successful their body.”

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Visitation and a supplication vigil volition beryllium held Wednesday for Moya, starting astatine 4 p.m. astatine St Joseph’s Catholic Church astatine 11757 Old St. Augustine Road. Moya volition beryllium laid to remainder connected Thursday astatine 11 a.m. astatine the Mass of Christian Burial.

Visitation for Hull volition beryllium connected Saturday astatine 3 p.m. astatine Turning Point astatine Calvary Church astatine 3500 State Road 16 successful St Augustine. The memorial work is astatine 4 p.m., with the burial to travel astatine Craig Memorial Park astatine 2600 Moultrie Road.

Both funerals volition beryllium unfastened to the public.

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