TAMPA, Fla. — It’s working.
That’s the word from Tampa Fire Rescue Chief Barbara Tripp, reporting on the department’s new rescue-unit Fire Station 25.
The firehouse – with no fire trucks – just paramedic units – is designed to ease the burden on surrounding stations and improve response time.
“So, it took us a year to get that station up and running, which has helped out the North Tampa areas,” Tripp told council members. “The call volume has equalized among the units up there. Which shows also, that are utilization for each individual has decreased. Which that is what we are looking for. And I am looking to do that throughout the city of Tampa.”
Station 25 opened in August. It was remodeled and redesigned with $3.4 million dollars from the American Rescue Plan. It’s location near Busch Gardens was chosen to ease the burden on nearby Fire Station 13, which is one of the busiest in the nation.
But 90% of those calls were medical, not fire responses.
RELATED: Tampa's Fire Station 25 has no fire trucks — but plays key role in responding to emergency calls
“It’s all about the data. We have the information,” Tripp said. “And you’re right, it’s not the response to the number of calls – it’s the response time.”
Station 25’s success now has city leaders rethinking their approach as they address the need for more rescue vehicles in booming areas like New Tampa, North Tampa and Channelside. Data being collected now on the smaller rescue-unit stations will help shape the city’s decisions about how and where to spend taxpayer dollars.
Tripp says there are other challenges to overcome like finding locations for new stations.
More than two dozen prospects, she said, have fallen through.
RELATED: Tampa's new rescue station will help support one of the busiest fire stations in the country
“They have done probably about 25 plus sites that we have had no luck on purchasing. And that has also been a concern an issue too,” the chief said. “We talk about the value of it, we talk about the location, we can’t just put it anywhere. And that’s what I’m not going to do is just do a knee-jerk reaction and put it somewhere where it’s not needed.”
The City of Tampa is still waiting on an overall public safety assessment that includes fire rescue and the police department.
Another bright spot, Chief Tripp said, is that despite a highly competitive job market, Tampa Fire Rescue has been able to hire over 100 people in the last year.