- April 29, 2026
A day after Flagler Palm Coast High School presented honor cords to 275 graduating seniors who earned the new Diploma Plus distinction, Flagler County Commissioner Andy Dance shared how two FPC Fire Leadership Academy graduates helped save a life.
The story began in 2016 when Flagler Schools and Flagler County Fire Rescue began the Fire Leadership program at the high school. At the time, Dance was a Flagler County School Board member who helped lead the initiative to get the program started. Flagler County Fire Rescue Chief Michael Tucker was then the superintendent of the Florida State Fire College. In that role, he was the state official who approved the program.
Five years later, Tucker became the Flagler County Fire Rescue chief when the first graduates of the academy began joining the county’s fire department.
Two of the program’s graduates were on duty recently at Fire Station 25 — a station shared by the Palm Coast and county fire departments — when they took a call from a resident in Palm Coast’s P Section.
Dance read a post from the resident on Facebook’s P Section Neighborhood Group. Dance, who shared the story during a School Board meeting on Tuesday, April 28, read the post:
“Shout out to station 25, who serves our neighborhood. I had a massive heart attack Monday night [April 20], and if not for them, I would have died. I actually did die on the operating table that night, but because of their rapid response, I'm here today, so if you see them out and about, thank them for serving the community.”
Answering the call were Rescue Supervisor Tyler Allicee, firefighter/EMT Hunter Lank and paramedic Morgan Steyn. Allicee and Lank are both graduates of FPC and the Fire Leadership Academy.
“This is a big deal, to read the report and see what Tyler did,” Tucker said. “This gentleman is alive today because Tyler knew what he was doing, so that when they got to the hospital, things were already in place. Tyler Allicee and Hunter Lank are true professionals.”
That is the power of career education, Dance said.
“What makes this meaningful to me is that the program was approved by the district in 2016 during my time serving on the School Board,” Dance said. “I remember the vision about creating stronger career pathways for students and building partnerships that connected education directly to public service and workforce development.”
This is a big deal, to read the report and see what Tyler did. This gentleman is alive today because Tyler knew what he was doing, so that when they got to the hospital, things were already in place. Tyler Allicee and Hunter Lank are true professionals.”
— MICHAEL TUCKER, Flagler County Fire Rescue chief
Flagler County's fire academy is a model for the entire state, Tucker said.
“It is the program of the Florida State Fire College. When another school goes to start the program they point them to Flagler County and say do what they do, and I will tell you that the schools that failed to do what we do, the programs are not successful,” he said.
The program’s instructor is Flagler County Fire Rescue Lt. Thomas Cope. The school district pays “a good portion” of his salary, Tucker said.
About 40 high school freshmen enter the program each year. Four years later, the graduates just need to finish up with the “immediately dangerous to life and health skills,” which they couldn’t do in high school. This final step takes about two weeks, Tucker said. As a Fire Rescue employee, Cope stays with the graduates through that training and sees them off to the state certification process.
Cope is always teaching, Tucker said. Dance said Cope provides the students “leadership, mentorship and guidance every day.
“Programs like this succeed because of dedicated people willing to invest in the next generation,” Dance said.
The freshmen in the program learn right from the start “that this is not a game,” Tucker said.
“They get their eyes open real quick,” he said. “They’re learning it’s real business. It is a very intensive investment on the part of the School Board. It's a very intensive investment on the part of Flagler County Fire Rescue and it's a very intensive investment on the part of the students.”
Ten years after the program began, two of the people most responsible for getting it started were standing before the School Board praising the success of the program and two of its graduates.
“The academy is producing leadership, discipline, teamwork and future public servants who benefit all of Flagler County,” Dance said.
