Pasco County Breaks Ground On Fire Rescue Station No. 2 On S.R. 54 

Although the Wesley Chapel area already has three Pasco Fire Rescue (PFR) stations in operation — Station No. 13 on Old Pasco Rd. in the Quail Hollow area, No. 26 on Aronwood Blvd. in Meadow Pointe and Station No. 38 on Overpass Rd. in Watergrass — there’s no doubt that the explosive growth of Wesley Chapel has created a desperate need for additional stations in and around zip codes 33543, 33544 and 33545. 

Pasco County has had a sign announcing that PFR Station No. 2 is planned on a piece of property on S.R. 54 less than a mile east of the new AdventHealth Meadow Pointe Emergency Room (as we reported about last issue) for several years, but now, construction has begun on Station No. 2, and the official groundbreaking for the new, state-of-the art fire station was held at the site at 32134 S.R. 54 on May 13. 

Pasco Fire Chief Ryan Guynn, who only got the job as chief six months ago but has had a 25-year career with PFR, was clearly thrilled to be able to talk about the official beginning of construction on the new station (which actually had been under construction for several weeks before the actual groundbreaking event). 

“This is something monumental, something that’s been a long time coming for the people in this area,” Guynn said before introducing Tim Sewell, the regional director for Florida of Ajax Building Company, which is doing the actual construction of the new fire station. 

Ajax is excited to be part of this fire station and this is the second of the package that we have coming out that we’re constructing (for PFR Station No. 19 in New Port Richey), so having our people tied into the community here and really working to build this facility for the county is extra special.” 

Chief Guynn also thanked Fleischman Garcia Maslowski, the architectural firm that designed the new station (as well as the new Mary W. Sierra Family YMCA in Wesley Chapel), and PFR’s own facilities team “for all of your hard work putting this together.” 

Next up was District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman, since the new station is located in his district. 

Weightman said, “The hard work for this station was done back in 2019, and the credit really goes to the voters who passed the GO (general obligation) bonds back then to help fund these stations. So, it’s a tremendous honor to be on the board and see one of the last remaining GO bond projects come out of the ground. 

He added, “Station 2 has been desperately needed and longed for by the residents of Wesley Chapel for many years and I’m just excited and happy to be in office as this is coming to life.” 

Comm. Weightman (above right) also introduced Dist. 5 Commissioner Jack Mariano, who told a little bit about the evolution of PFR during his 21-year tenure on the Board. 

“When I first started,” Mariano said, “there were a bunch of things that needed to get improved on and I think from my inception of getting on the Board, every board has supported the fire and EMS (emergency medical services) team that we have in this county and we appreciate the team getting these things coming out of the ground. And, the word out there on the street, is that Pasco County safest and best place to work [for fire and EMS personnel].” 

Chief Guynn (above left) admitted that he can’t take too much credit for the new station, “because a lot of the work done on this was way before my time. A lot of the deputy chiefs here had a lot more input into this station than I did, so thank you. I have to give you credit as well. The health and safety of our men and women has always been at the forefront. And your commitment to that [safety] and our commissioners commitment to bring that to fruition is always evident and we’re never going to forget that.” 

Truly State-Of-The Art! 

Following the ceremony, Chief Guynn gave more information about the new Fire Station No. 2 (the site plan for it is shown below) itself. 

Site plan source: Pasco County

“We have what we call our Hot, Warm and Cold zones, which are isolated areas inside the building, where you need to help separate some of the carcinogens from our living quarters, which helps keep our employees healthier and cancer free. That’s not a new concept and we certainly didn’t invent it, but we’re taking it to the next level, and our commissioners have gotten behind us. We take our employees’ health and wellness very serious, so just being able to provide them with a living quarters and a fire station workout of that design, keep them healthy, is a big deal.” 

Chief Guynn also noted that the new Station No. 2 will have, “our typical fire truck and ambulance package, but we’re looking at moving in some aerial apparatus as well. We have some specialized equipment that we like to keep close to the interstate. But, you know, a lot of those decisions will be made in the near future because, you know, by the time this station is built, we’ll have operational needs that are going to change as well.” 

The 13,840-sq.-ft. Station 2, which is expected to be open by the winter of 2026, also will be a three-bay station, which Chief Guynn called “medium-sized, but it will give us plenty of room to grow. We’ll be able to add additional units inside of here and we’ll, be able to house dozens of employees, especially during hurricanes and natural disasters.” 

And, those additional units — and additional fire stations in the area between Morris Bridge Rd. and Meadow Pointe Blvd. (Station No. 31), and just south of the Harley Davidson dealership on Wesley Chapel Blvd. in Land O’Lakes (No. 5) — are already needed and will continue to be even more needed as more homes are built in our area and traffic continues to increase. Even so, Chief Guynn said that response times in the Wesley Chapel area, “are currently within the acceptable range,” but added that the new station will definitely improve those times, especially for the Avalon Park/New River community and Meadow Pointe Areas III & IV. 


Editor’s Note – Unfortunately, the groundbreaking for this new fire station in Wesley Chapel was held the week after we went to press with our May 13 issue, so this news is almost a month old as this issue is reaching you, but I felt it was still too important to not include it in this issue. I apologize for any inconvenience that the delay in getting this info to you may have caused. — GN 

New Fire Station Set To Open; Plus, A Smoother Ride For New Tampa Blvd.

New Tampa’s new fire station is ready to go.

According to Jason Penny, the public information officer for the Tampa Fire Rescue department, the newly constructed Fire Station No. 23 just south of County Line Rd. should be fully functional and staffed sometime in January, though no official date has been set for the new station’s ribbon cutting.

“For all intent and purposes, it is done,” Penny said. “We’re just putting the finishes touches on it and waiting for the certificate of occupancy.”

  Everything assigned to Fire Station 23 has already been hard at work since July. The truck, fire engine, rescue car and crew are currently working at stations in Ybor City (No. 4), on Hillsborough Ave. (No. 12) and off N. 30th St. near Busch Gardens (No. 13).

Station No. 23 will be New Tampa’s fourth fire station, but the first new station in our area since 2012.

It is expected to ease the pressure on Stations No. 21 and No. 22, which are both located on Cross Creek Blvd. Fire Station No. 23 is located right down County Line Rd. from Grand Hampton, which has roughly 900 homes, as well as other still developing communities in the area.

Station 23 also will be home to a new District Fire Chief responsible for coordinating efforts between all of New Tampa’s stations — Nos. 21, 22, 23 and No. 20 in Tampa Palms.

Tampa Now Repaving Parts Of New Tampa Blvd 

Work began right before Christmas on smoothing over some of the trouble spots on New Tampa Blvd.’s bike and pedestrian trail that runs through the West Meadows community.

The pathway has faced criticism from local residents for years due to its cracked, bumpy and uneven surface that makes bike riding and even walking potentially dangerous.

District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera was alerted to the poor condition of the path by a Hunter’s Green resident who often biked the path, and Viera says he was shocked when he went to take a look.

“I hadn’t been on it in a long time, to be honest, so I was a little struck by the disrepair,” Viera says. He adds that he called Jean Duncan at the City of Tampa Transportation and Stormwater Services Department to see if something could be done.

Originally scheduled for the spring, the project was moved up and began on Dec. 13, and was expected to be completed this month. While it doesn’t appear to be the complete renovation of the path that some had hoped for, the worst parts on the path have now been paved over by asphalt.

Pasco County Fire Rescue Breaks Ground On New Station No. 38

Photo by Orlando Negron

After having only one fire station for many years, it won’t be too long before the Wesley Chapel area has three. On Sept. 17, Pasco County Fire Rescue (PCFR) hosted a groundbreaking event for Fire Station No. 38, located on Overpass Rd., west of Curley Rd., near Watergrass Elementary.

The station shows the foresight of PCFR’s long-term strategic plan.

“Wesley Chapel is a booming population center,” PCFR public information officer Corey Dierdorff said. “With new developments like Epperson and Watergrass already populated and new developments north of the new station, like Ashley Groves, already being permitted and approved, it means higher call volume. Without more stations, higher call volume means longer response times. We’re looking at putting stations in ahead of (new) development.”

Longer response times also can mean the difference between life and death. That’s why the new four-bay, 10,843 square foot Station 38 will feature some state-of-the-art technology when it opens in about a year.

The PURVIS Fire Station Alerting System (FSAS) is an award-winning, IP-based solution designed to automate the process of alerting fire and rescue personnel, enhance communications and decrease response times. Station 38 will be the first in Pasco County to utilize the system.

“Let’s say calls for chest pain, shortness of breath and a car accident all come in at the same time,” Deputy Chief of Operations Michael Cassano said. “Right now, all three calls will stack and be dispatched one at a time. With the PURVIS System, they’ll all be dispatched at the same time.”

County Commissioner Ron Oakley Photo by Orlando Negron

The new system could cut critical seconds or even minutes off of response times. While Station 38 will be the first in Pasco with the new system, PCFR plans to retrofit the rest of the stations across the county in future years.

Station 38 also will employ new technology to keep its firefighters safer and better rested. To keep them safer, the new fire station will employ a Plymovent diesel exhaust capture system. Plymovent is a global leading supplier of products, systems and services for the extraction and filtration of polluted indoor air. What oftentimes happens in the bays is a truck idles while emitting both carbon monoxide (CO) and the carcinogen Benzene.

“A lot of our bay doors open into living quarters and the trucks are spewing Benzene all over the bays,” Cassano said. “With this new safe air system, it monitors the atmospheric conditions in the bay and can automatically turn on fans, regulate temperature and even open bay doors.”

Another benefit for firefighters at Station 38 will be how the PURVIS System alerts them. Currently, a quick blast is emitted over the station’s speaker system. With the new PURVIS System, the tones gradually increase in volume. Additionally, the alerts can be targeted toward only the firefighters needed for a particular call and not the entire station.

“We found that many firefighters endure sleep deprivation,” Cassano said. “When you wake up to a loud noise, it triggers catacholamine release (in your brain) and a fight or flight mindset. This was happening every time firefighters would get a call. It’s designed with the goal of being a more humane notification system.”

Station 38 marks the first additional fire coverage area in Pasco County since 2009 and the first new coverage area in East Pasco County since 2007.

Not far behind Station 38’s groundbreaking will be the opening of the new Station No. 13. Located off of Old Pasco Rd., the new station had its groundbreaking in March. The old Station 13 at 27329 Dayflower Rd. is an aging facility that has become inadequate to handle the population growth in the area.

When it opens in January, the new Station 13 will be 9,400 square feet, have space for a Pasco County Sheriff’s substation and three drive-through bays able to accommodate six fire vehicles.

“In Pasco County, county wide, we are issuing 300 residential permits a month,” Dierdorff said. “The growth is incredible but our aim is to provide the best fire and medical coverage.”

New Tampa’s Rotary Clubs Join Forces To Beautify Fire Station No. 20!

Tampa Fire Department Station No. 20 in Tampa Palms needing a little sprucing up and it just so happened that a platoon of community-minded residents was looking to do some sprucing.

On Earth Day (April 20), the two came together with single goal in mind — to help beautify the first fire station built in New Tampa.
“Our Rotary International President Ian Riseley wanted to plant 1.2-million trees all over the world to call attention to environmental issues,” Rotary Club of New Tampa (which meets Friday mornings at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club) president Karen Frashier said. “There are 1.2-million Rotarians worldwide and Earth Day was the deadline. We added 18 to that total today.”

It was a collaborative effort. Rotary Club of New Tampa Noon (which meets Wednesdays for lunch at Pebble Creek Golf Club) president Belvai “Vinnie” Kudva came up with the idea after District 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera approached him during a recent Rotary Club meeting.
“(Luis) Viera came to our club to talk about this project, doing something for Station 20,” Kudva said. “(Neighborhood News publisher) Gary Nager guided us, but we all wanted to both do something good for the community and also celebrate Earth Day.”

The original idea to improve Fire Station 20 by the Rotarians was to paint it. Built in 1988, the station is in need of a fresh coat of paint. That undertaking proved too cumbersome for the strict rules regarding which entities are allowed to make improvements to the physical building at a City of Tampa fire station.

“Like everything else in New Tampa, there are deed restrictions for improvements like painting,” Fire Station 20 Captain Stephen Suarez said. “There are also complications about which contractors the City can allow to make improvements like that. We found a project for the Rotarians that would beautify the station and when they suggested crepe myrtles, it was a natural fit.”

Kudva contracted with Cypress Creek Landscape Supply in Tampa to purchase and deliver the different color crepe myrtle trees.
To his surprise, when the crew showed up on Sunday to plant them, the holes had already been dug, with the trees already placed in them. All the crew had to do was water them and fill in the topsoil.

Rotarians, along with Capt. Suarez, Viera and his son Luis, set to work straightening the trees, filling the holes and building berms around the base of the trees to trap water so that it does not run off. It was a worthy project that more than a dozen volunteers took part in.

“We decided it was a good thing to do to serve the community, especially with it being Earth Day,” Noon Rotary Club member Scott Hileman said. “We want to show an example that we are all one community and we help each other out.”

Hileman brought along his children Ella (16), Drew (14) and David (11) and they all grabbed shovels so that the project was completed less than 30 minutes into the planting.

“It’s our way of saying ‘thank you’ to the men and women who work here,” Viera said. “They help us, they leave their families to help ours. It’s just a small way to show them we appreciate the work that they do.”