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Article: Texas' South Padre Island Copes with Safety Issues for Spring Breakers.
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
- Article date:
- March 23, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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By Sarah Ovaska, The Monitor, McAllen, Texas Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Mar. 23--SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas--Although up to 120,000 Spring Breakers are expected to visit during March, the South Padre Island Fire Department keeps only eight firefighters and two engine trucks on duty at a time, numbers which have been called dangerous by the state fire fighters association.
The small fire department force reflects the town's year-round population -- not the high number of tourists that visit the Island, said Clifford Rowell, fire chief and interim city manager. The town's population is 2,422, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.
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