TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. — When a water main break in early September left the main Temple Terrace fire station without water, Chief Ian Kemp acknowledged the irony.
“Our water feeder into the station burst underneath the concrete bay, and so we had to shut the water off,” he said.
Kemp immediately brought in portable restrooms and found locations for first responders to shower.
"This station's, you know, roughly 40 years old,” he said. “So, this is one of those stations that would be either replaced or be identified as needing to be rehabbed."
The situation shines a glaring spotlight on the department's needs, especially as more and more people move to the area.
"This particular area of Temple Terrace is one of the busiest areas in Hillsborough County as far as emergency response,” he said.
He told 10 Investigates that calls for service have been rising five to seven percent each year.
“There's a lot of apartment complexes, you have USF, you have Busch Gardens area. You have a lot of people that are moving in and out of the area,” he said.
The department has added an inspector and hired more people to staff a new transport rescue. They've also added three new battalion chiefs. Yet, there's still an area where the department struggles.
"One of the areas that we have a little bit longer response time is the area just a little bit east of us off of the 301/Temple Terrace highway area,” Kemp said. "Due to some annexation-- and also that's where a lot of our industrial park is and our Amazon facility is-- the call volume in that area is just continued to increase.
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The department says it needs a new station to keep response times low. Kemp says city recently bought land to build it, and they’re counting on money from Hillsborough County's Community Investment Tax to help cover the cost for planning and construction.
Commissioner Gwen Myers says voter approval is critical.
“It allows us to continue with our infrastructure, our public safety and transportation and our community facilities and all. And right now, we all are paying for it,” she said.
In November, voters will decide whether they will continue paying the tax through 2041. As of now, Temple Terrace is set to get $53.9 million of CIT-generated funds, with $16 million going to the fire department. Of that, $9.5 million will go toward building the new station.
When asked what’s at risk if the CIT doesn't pass, Kemp said sacrifices or changes will have to be made.
“If the voters don't vote for the CIT, obviously, we're still going to need fire stations, we're still going to need fire apparatus. So we're going to need to identify a means of funding whether it's to raise taxes and or fees, but somehow, we're going to need to get that money in."
Voters in Hillsborough County have paid the half percent community investment sales tax since 1996. According to the county, that money has impacted 784 capital improvement projects—including 24 fire stations.
Emerald Morrow is an investigative reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. Like her on Facebook and follow her on X. You can also email her at emorrow@10tampabay.com.