Boca Grande emergency firefighter calls were down more than 10 percent in 2011.
The Boca Grande Fire Department responded to 392 calls in 2011 compared with 427 in 2010.
"Down is not a bad thing," said Chief C.W. Blosser at the Jan. 18 board meeting.
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The Boca Grande Fire Department will be reissuing its hangtags this hurricane season.
Blosser gave no reason for the dip in calls, which resulted in 32.66 firefighter runs per month last year compared with 36.41 in 2010. He noted calls in the first month of 2012 are on a 40-incident track.
"We're starting to pick up the pace," Blosser said.
The 2011 call total trails only the 418 calls answered in 2008 and 2010.
Fact Box
How to get Hurricane Hangtags
Where: Boca Grande Fire Department Headquarters, 360 East Railroad Ave.
When: Between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays AFTER NEW PROGRAM DETAILS ARE ANNOUNCED IN FEBRUARY.
You should know: The Fire Department will be closed the day before a pending hurricane.
To apply: If you are not on the island, call to request an application. Send completed application with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the Boca Grande Fire Department, P.O. Box 532, Boca Grande, FL 33921. Include a copy of your driver's license, proof of residency or ownership, i.e. copy of tax bill, deed, rental agreement, utility bill, etc. The tags will be mailed to you.
Tag Renewal: Bring your old tag and driver's license into the fire station to have a renewal sticker applied. Or send your tags with a self addressed stamped envelope to the Boca Grande Fire Department and the tags will be renewed and returned to you.
To Go
What: Boca Grande Fire Department Board meeting
Where: 360 E. Railroad Ave.
When: 5 p.m. Feb. 15
Why: Monthly meeting
Who: Open to the public
In other action, Boca Grande hurricane hangtags will be replaced this year. Blosser said details will be announced in about a month but there is no doubt the hangtags will be replaced.
"We've renewed them five times," Blosser said. "We need to reorder our hangtags."
Hurricane hangtags maximize security while providing fast, authorized access to island property.
To make re-entry easier, GIBA issued a vehicle rear-view mirror hangtag to officials, property owners, residents and business owners of Boca Grande. A computerized database tracks all issued hangtags. Blosser aide Nancy Coleman said the new tags would be smaller and plain with spots for color stickers so they can be reused more easily.
"We're kind of out of space on the ones we have," she said
Boca Grande post-hurricane re-entry involves the Gasparilla Island Bridge Association checking identification of all who return to the island using hurricane hangtags. Each tag is color coded according to a designated official, commercial and residential use and district zone.
The zones are:
* Zone 1, Bridge to 18th Street
* Zone 2, Isles
* Zone 3, 18th Street to First Street
* Zone 4, First Street to south end
It is recommended that people keep hangtags in their vehicle glove box for easy access.
