Letters from Readers

I urge those who are reading this newsletter to send an email expressing their opinions on subjects. When a reader sends one, it will be included if I find it relevant and I have adequate space. I may edit the letter because of length and clarity. You don’t have to agree with me to have your letter in Friends & Neighbors. All you must do is send it to TOM CAMPENNI or fill out the form on the website.

From Danielle Borzillo

The most underreported issue regarding Byron Donalds’ campaign is the one residents of Martin County should find the most concerning. 

Let me explain. In 2018, Erika Donalds came to Martin County to establish a new charter school, Treasure Coast Classical Academy. It was at one of the early informational meetings that I first met Erika. My children were young and I was looking for something different for their education and I found it in the classical curriculum at TCCA. I eagerly volunteered my expertise in event-based fundraising to help get TCCA off the ground, serving on the finance committee and chairing our first gala in 2019."

By 2021, I was serving on staff at TCCA full-time as the Project Coordinator and one of my main responsibilities was organizing fundraisers. Soon, I began seeing discrepancies in the school's finances including fundraising dollars not being accurately recorded, classroom and office space overcrowding, and lack of promised support from Erika’s organization, Optima Foundation. Optima was acting as a charter management company and was being paid approximately a million dollars a year including 10% of all school-based fundraising by TCCA to manage the school operations. I wrote several letters to the board to share my concerns and eventually in February of 2023, spoke up publicly at a board meeting. Three weeks later, I was terminated from my position. I was told I was “making co-workers uncomfortable.” It turns out the only person I was making uncomfortable was Erika Donalds. A few days later, the board reinstated me and began the process of separating from Erika Donalds. The cause for separation is laid out in an active lawsuit filed by TCCA against Erika and her organization.. 

Why should Martin County residents be concerned? As a congressman and gubernatorial candidate, Byron Donalds has consistently legislated to expand charter school funding and programs. Meanwhile, his wife’s company directly profited by extracting management fees and fundraising cuts from those exact same taxpayer-funded institutions. This is self-enrichment by a public official at the taxpayers’ expense—tax dollars that the people of Martin County have already lost.

One note about school choice. It is still a societal good. My own children continue to benefit from it at Martin County charter schools including TCCA. It is unfortunate that people like Byron and Erika Donalds give this important movement a negative reputation. 

I encourage you to research Byron Donalds and each of the candidates before the August 18th primary. What you will find should disturb you. Politicians profiting off their position is nothing new, but that doesn’t make it right. Our founding fathers believed that virtue was essential to a representative government. We, the voters, must stop rewarding non-virtuous behavior in our leaders. Character still matters—and it matters just as much as policy.

  M. Gilbertie

The recent article in TC Palm written by Keith Burbank regarding speculation of drastic budget cuts in the Martin County Fire Department raises many questions yet provides no answers.  This is typical journalism based on speculation lacking technical facts from professionals in the fire arena.  

In reading the article one can assume that the fear of these budget cuts is coming from politicians like Commissioner Ed Ciampi who support the Fire Chief without substantial supporting evidence.  Burbank also cites Fire Rescue who plans to make a presentation to the County Commissioners.  Interestingly Chief Cianciulli was unavailable for comment at this time.

 If you look back at several previous requests by Chief Cianciulli for additional staffing and implementation of new programs the chief is usually given blanket approval by the MC Commissioners. No one at the Commission meetings asks any questions that would justify the need for any of these requests. The only “Expert Opinion” that is ever offered is by the fire chief and justification for most of those requests like for more staffing is his argument of increased population and number of calls.

Keith Burbank, the Commissioners, and other interested parties should be given some background history about fire department staffing and other factors that must be considered for increasing or decreasing staffing.

The Evolution of American Fire Services

Early Vulnerability: Early American settlements (starting with Jamestown in 1608) faced catastrophic losses because houses featured wooden frames, thatched roofs, and open hearths, with no organized way to pump water. The First Volunteer Companies: In 1736, Benjamin Franklin established the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia. Inspired by mutual protection rather than profit, it became the blueprint for organized volunteer firefighting. Transition to Professional Departments: By the mid-19th century, volunteer companies in fast-growing cities had become overly competitive or tied to insurance payouts. This led cities like Cincinnati to establish America's first fully paid, professional municipal fire department to guarantee reliable public safety.

Structure fires began a sharp decline and emergency medical services (EMS) calls experienced dramatic growth during the early 1980s. This period marked a massive industry-wide paradigm shift for fire departments, transforming them from traditional fire suppression units into comprehensive public safety and medical networks.

The Call Volume Shift National data highlights how aggressively the call breakdown reversed between the 1980s and subsequent decades: In 1980: U.S. fire departments responded to roughly 11 million calls, over 3 million of which were for active fires. Medical emergency calls hovered near 5 million. By 2020–2021: Out of roughly 36 million total emergency calls, active fire calls plummeted to just 1.35 million. Meanwhile, medical aid calls skyrocketed to over 26 million, accounting for roughly 65% to 75% of a modern department’s total workload.

The dramatic reduction in structural fires nationally over the last thirty years is primarily driven by strict building and fire codes, the near-universal adoption of smoke alarms, and significant declines in consumer smoking rates. According to historical data from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), structural fires have plummeted by more than half since their historic peaks, a transformation largely credited to a combination of technological innovations, regulatory updates, and consumer lifestyle shifts.

The key factors accounting for this steep decline include:

Widespread Code Enforcement & Fire Safety Technology

Smoke Alarms: Universal mandates requiring hardware, interconnected smoke alarms in new constructions ensure early detection, allowing occupants to extinguish minor fires before they expand. Automatic Sprinklers: Stricter local and national building codes require built-in sprinkler systems in high-density structures like apartments, schools, and hospitals, making catastrophic multi-family or commercial fires exceedingly rare. Electrical System Safety: The widespread implementation of Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs) and Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCIs) has drastically reduced modern home electrical failures and structural wiring ignitions.

Shifting Social Behaviors & Public Education

Decline in Smoking: Decades of declining smoking rates have directly minimized the prevalence of unattended lit cigarettes, which historically stood as a leading driver of fatal home structure fires. Public Outreach: Sustained school and community public education campaigns by organizations like FEMA and local departments have successfully drilled fire prevention habits into everyday home cooking and heating practices.

Enhanced Consumer Product Standards

Appliance Safety: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) enforced stricter rules on home heating equipment, space heaters, and clothes dryers, building in automatic shut-offs to prevent thermal overloads. Flame-Retardant Standards: Improved manufacturing rules mandated child-resistant lighters and more fire-resistant mattresses and textiles, slowing down early-stage fire ignition in living spaces.

It is important to understand the history of fire protection and how that history got us to the present day.  As number of fires has been decreasing the need for staffing has also decreased.  Medical calls obviously do not require the same manpower that structure fires do.  So, with that in mind how do you reduce manpower without compromising manpower for fire calls and medical calls with the latter be the most demanding of staffing.

The Compromise: System Optimization

If the county decides to move forward with the idea to reduce manpower costs without totally abandoning fire coverage, they typically look at a "Peak-Load" or "Cross-Staffing" model rather than permanently deleting engine companies:

Cross-Staffing: A station keeps an engine and a rescue vehicle on the floor, but only staffs 3 or 4 personnel. If a medical call comes in, they roll the rescue. If a fire or major accident occurs, the exact same crew jumps into the engine. This cuts manpower costs in half while keeping the heavy apparatus in service for ISO ratings and emergencies.

It is difficult at best for anyone to sell this concept to a governing body who has been used to hearing arguments from a single source such as Chief Cianciulli.  So, the logical next step is to bring in a third independent party to do a total evaluation of the Martin County Fire Department.  It is imperative that the third independent party has no connection with Martin County, the fire chief or the Commissioners. All the facts regarding the MC staffing for the fire department must be made available to the taxpayers and should be generated by fire protection professionals.