Paying it forward: Here’s how Duette is coming to the aid of Bimini fire department

It’s not often that the words Duette and Bimini are mentioned in the same sentence.

Yet, in the world of firefighters, one fire department may not be so far away that it cannot offer a helping hand.

The Duette Fire Rescue District on Wednesday donated a 3,000-gallon water tanker and an ambulance to Bimini, the Bahama island closest to the United States, to help its fire department get up to speed.

It’s just a matter of paying it forward, Duette Fire Chief Jim Leonard said.

On one of the firefighter Facebook pages that Leonard follows, he saw that Bimini, which until recently lacked any firefighting equipment, had received a donated fire truck and some training for about 200 volunteers.

Yet, there was still a need for much more.

Duette firefighters had two surplus pieces of equipment — a 1985 GMC/Indiana water tender, and a Ford/AEV ambulance, originally provided by West Coast Southern Medical Service in Bradenton — that seemed like ideal additions for a struggling fire department.

Duette no longer needed the water tender after receiving a newer tanker from the East Manatee Fire Rescue District. Duette’s original plans for the ambulance did not materialize because it does not transport patients.

On Wednesday, Tim Neidert and volunteers for Caribbean Fire Rescue Benevolent arrived in Duette to drive the two vehicles to Florida’s east coast to await shipment from Fort Lauderdale to Bimini.

A retired fire chief who lived part-time in Bimini alerted the firefighter community to the plight of the island fire department, Neidert said.

“Before that, they had nothing,” Neidert said.

Leonard knows all too well what it’s like to operate a volunteer fire department with few resources.

Until 2011, the Duette Fire District operated out of a pole barn.

“We knew that we wouldn’t be where we are now without help from other organizations,” Leonard said. “When this came up, we remembered where we were 10 or 15 years ago.”

The Duette department now operates out of a modern facility at 35800 State Road 62.

For more about the Duette Fire Rescue District visit duettefire.org.

This story was originally published April 10, 2019 at 2:59 PM.