Fire Station 21 Adds A New Vehicle To Its Inventory

The new rescue truck at Fire Station No. 21 will help those in major motor vehicle accidents who need more assistance than a typical rescue vehicle can provide. (Photo: Tampa Fire Rescue) 

While City of Tampa Fire Rescue (TFR) Chief Barbara Tripp wrestles with ways to improve fire rescue response times in New Tampa, our area has received its first-ever “mini-heavy” rescue (MHR) truck.

The MHR truck, which is similar to the heavy rescue fire rescue trucks but is smaller and designed for technical rescues, will run out of TFR Fire Station No. 21, the Cross Creek Blvd. station closest to Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.

The new truck, part of the department’s special operations division, will work in concert with the larger fire rescue trucks and will be manned by Tampa Fire Rescue (TFR) firefighters who are trained in urban search and rescue.

“That apparatus basically has more technical tools to assist with major incidents, such as a major vehicle accident that people need to be extricated from,” says TFR spokesperson Vivian Shedd. “Think of it as a giant tool box, with lots of things you don’t normally use. But, when you need it, you are glad you have it because it makes the rescue go that much faster.”

The truck is equipped with the Jaws of Life, cutters and spreaders “and other tools for rope rescues and things of that nature” that aren’t on every fire rescue truck, Shedd adds.

Because the truck is for specialty rescues that don’t happen as often, it doesn’t specifically address the recent reports about fire rescue times in New Tampa. However, it is an important addition for Station No. 21, considering that the area is heavily reliant on major traffic areas like I-75 and BBD that are prone to major accidents.

An accident requiring the life-saving services of an MHR truck would have to typically wait 15-20 minutes, or more (depending upon the time of day), for one to arrive from downtown Tampa. 

“This is why we saw the need and brought it over to New Tampa,” Shedd says. “People in those kind of accidents don’t have time to wait.”

Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera, who represents North and New Tampa in District 7, has been an advocate for more help at New Tampa’s four fire stations, and says the MHR truck is a great addition.

“This vehicle came after a lot of lobbying from me and our friends in Tampa Firefighters Local 754,” Viera says. “I appreciate them and so does New Tampa. Fire Rescue response times are a huge issue for me for New Tampa. This investment addresses this. We got this vehicle funded this past year and I got another $1,000,000 in the budget for response times this year.”

Viera says he hopes to see even more assistance in the future to help reduce rescue times in New Tampa, which rank among the worst in Tampa. Shedd says that the problem is high on Chief Tripp’s to-do list.

“One thing our fire chief has stressed that is very important to her are response times,” Shedd says. “She is deeply committed to making sure that we are able to respond to any emergency as quickly as possible…there is still more to be done, and we are looking into additional resources (to improve those times.)”

Tampa Fire Station No. 23 Taking Shape On County Line Rd.

As new homes and apartments continue to pop up in New Tampa, the City of Tampa is delivering on its promise to keep new residents safe.

Tampa Fire Rescue (TFR) Station No. 23 is on its way.

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and TFR Chief Thomas Forward were among those on hand on April 9 as ground was broken on the new station, albeit ceremoniously, as the building located in the Grand Hampton area at Trout Creek Dr. and County Line Rd. has already begun to take form.

It is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

“This is one of the things I like to do,” said Mayor Buckhorn at the groundbreaking ceremony, “to prepare for the next generation in our community, the next chapter in Tampa history, the next chapter in New Tampa. We’re happy to make this investment. It’s a great day for New Tampa.”

Buckhorn, who has presided over five fire stations being built or rehabilitated since becoming mayor in 2011, praised District 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera for his diligence in getting the $1.4 million (of 2018 Community Investment Tax proceeds) earmarked for the station’s completion.

Viera says it was past time to build New Tampa’s fourth fire station, and first since 2012, considering the continued growth of new homes and apartments in the area. For example, the Tampa City Council authorized nearly 800 new homes roughly 18 months ago for K-Bar Ranch (although most of the calls from that area will be handled by Station 22 near Morris Bridge Rd. (see below).

Not only is Fire Station No. 23 located right down County Line Rd. from Grand Hampton’s 900 or so homes, as well as another 480 apartment units at Colonial Grand at Hampton Preserve, it also will help take some of the pressure off the existing Stations No. 21 and 22, both of which are located on Cross Creek Blvd.

“It just gets down to the basic idea that as you have expanding communities like we’ve had in New Tampa, you have to build basic local government responses for the needs of those local families,” Viera says. “We’ve been building more and more neighborhoods out here, but not building local government responses for the people moving in.”

Back in 2008, Tampa originally bought the 2.2 acres of land for Station 23 for $1.2 million, but the recession put plans to actually build it on hold.

The fire station is part of the city’s $120.3-million Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which is addressing many of the recession-induced deferred infrastructure projects. Another fire station, No. 24, is planned for the K-Bar Ranch area, but it hasn’t received funding yet.

Fire Station 23 will house nearly 40 firefighters, an engine company, a truck company and a rescue unit.

“The rescue car is one of the most important things for this area because the majority of our calls are not fire calls, they are medical calls,” said TFR public information officer Jason Penny. “The brand new unit will do wonders for the people of this area.”

While the Tampa Fire Rescue Training Division is located in Palmetto Beach, Penny said the new station also will have a separate building that will serve as a training area for potential firefighters. It will be the only fire station that has a standalone detached classroom/meeting area.

“This gives the whole district an area where they can train,” Penny said.

Also, Station 23 will be home to a new District Fire Chief, who will coordinate responses between all four of New Tampa’s fire stations (including Station No. 20 in Tampa Palms (see Community Calendar on pg. 18).

With more homes and apartments coming, Chief Forward said the timing of a new fire station couldn’t be any better.

“Fire Station 23 will definitely enhance the response in this (area),” Penny said. “We have been looking at runs and looking at the response packages, and we could not ask for this station to come in and provide….service at a better time. By putting this in place…we absolutely ensure that the (New Tampa) area will realize that exact same level of emergency response as the rest of our greater Tampa area.”

Unincorporated New Tampa May Get Emergency Services From Pasco

After nearly 20 years of emergency services from nearby Tampa Fire Rescue (TFR) Station No. 21 on Cross Creek Blvd., residents in Pebble Creek, Live Oak Preserve, Cross Creek and the other communities located in unincorporated Hillsborough County may soon be looking across county lines for service.

While representatives from Hillsborough County would prefer that county residents in New Tampa continue receiving City of Tampa services, county officials are unwilling to pay the $1.1-million annual price tag Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn is seeking.

“The Mayor is looking at where he can pull in new revenue, and that’s fine, but he needs to be fair about it,’’ says District 2 Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist. “The deal isn’t fair.”

Comm. Crist says the county is looking into other options, namely cutting a deal with Pasco County Fire Rescue and its Station No. 26 in the nearby Meadow Pointe Community of Wesley Chapel.

“The county is looking at all the options we have available, and what they will cost,” Crist says. “That’s not the only fire station up there that can serve us. We can cut a deal with the Pasco County Fire Department to provide the same services in the same frame of time.”

Pasco County Fire Rescue Station 26 is located close enough to unincorporated New Tampa to provide service, says Crist, adding that the county has already looked into the logistics of being serviced by Station 26, and have found them to be satisfactory.

The station is 1.6 miles from the entrance to Live Oak Preserve, 1.9 miles to the Pebble Creek Golf Club, 2.5 miles to the intersection of Cross Creek Blvd. and Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., and roughly 5.5 miles from the Kinnan St. area.

Victor Crist

To reach those easternmost areas of unincorporated New Tampa, rescue units would have to cut through Live Oak or travel south on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. before turning east on Cross Creek Blvd., as there are few options to get there faster.

“It’s relatively the same,” Crist says. “The quality of the equipment, the quality of the service, the response time will all be relatively the same. (Residents) will see no difference.”

Hillsborough County has been paying the city $218,000 a year, but since negotiations began in January, the county has paid an additional $300,000 in adjustments related to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

So, instead of Buckhorn’s initial request to raise the price to $1.46 million, the total sought by the city is now $1.1 million.

That’s still more than twice what Crist says a deal Pasco County would cost.

“I’m not really sure how they got (that price),” Crist says. “I think they just pulled numbers out of the air. I have asked them to show me the rationale behind those numbers, but I (haven’t gotten) anything.”

Sonya Little, Tampa’s Chief Financial Officer, says the city’s numbers were derived from a simple Pro Rata share, based on proportion. According to Little, Fire Station No. 21 provided 7,309 hours of service in 2016, and 2,926 of those hours, or 40 percent, were provided to the Pebble Creek, Live Oak and Cross Creek communities.

Since the operating cost of Station No. 21 was $3,652,432, Buckhorn said originally the county should pay 40 percent, or $1,460,973 dollars.

The City of Tampa is facing more than $50-million in debt, due to a pair of bonds stemming from deals made in the mid-1990s that are coming due, with payments of roughly $14 million beginning in 2019.

On Sept. 28, the Tampa City Council reduced the tax increase Buckhorn was asking for, further reducing future revenues.

“The City is facing a lot of debt that’s coming on quickly,” Comm. Crist says. “The City Council did not vote to give him his tax increases. So now, he’s holding the county hostage for it, and it isn’t the right and fair thing to do.”

Crist says a deal with Pasco County could cost the county 25-50 percent of what the City of Tampa is asking for. Whether that gets the county and city back to the negotiating table remains to be seen.

“As of right now, there’s no more conversation,’’ says Ashley Bauman, the director of marketing and communications for the City of Tampa. “But that’s not to say there won’t be.”

Otherwise, Crist says a deal with Pasco County could be forthcoming.

“We’ll put a deal together with Pasco County, and tell the city this is what Pasco is willing to do it for, take it or leave it,’’ he says. “The bottom line is, were not going to significantly overpay for the service.”