SURFSIDE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis traveled to Surfside Tuesday morning to deliver some of the $1,000 bonuses that the Florida Legislature approved earlier this year for first responders.
While the bonuses are for all firefighters, law enforcement officers and EMTs in the state, the governor said he wanted to come down to South Florida to personally show his appreciation for those who spent weeks at the site of the Champlain Towers South collapse searching for survivors and working to recover the bodies of those who were killed in the June 24 collapse.
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WATCH BELOW: Full press conference in Surfside.
“It’s not all about the money but if we’re able to show a small token of our appreciation, we’re happy to do that,” he said.
The governor praised South Florida’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces 1 and 2 for their service, which no doubt took both a physical and an emotional toll on them and said he’s met many families of the victims who were grateful for their actions.
“Everything that could have been done was done,” DeSantis said.
The bonuses total about $208.4 million dollars and are being administered by the Department of Economic Opportunity in partnership with other state agencies.