Demand grows for more fire stations in Orange County growing

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Three new fire stations planned for eastern Orange County are expected to improve response times.

County commissioners this week selected a company to begin the design work.

Channel 9’s Michael Lopardi learned even more stations may soon be needed to keep up with growth.

The county is still working to decide the exact locations, but one of the new stations is expected to go near the intersection of North Dean Road and Winder Trail near the University of Central Florida.

Fire station 81 is about 4 miles away, but Orange County said increasing growth and traffic is making it tougher for crews to respond to emergencies.

“The traffic is really bad, especially on University Boulevard when the college lets out or they go in,” resident Joe Garcia said.

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs has called for $18 million to build the new stations, which are expected to go in the eastern part of the county. A special report released last year found the time that emergency crews spend traveling to calls is on the rise and average response times are generally higher than the industry norm.

“I mean, it's huge, because when you're calling, you expect them to get there in a decent time, because it does make a huge difference,” resident Kari Fowler said.

The report recommended moving some stations and adding even more after 2020.

The fire department didn't have anyone available for comment on Friday, but told Eyewitness News it will likely have to hire more people. Fire officials don’t know an exact number.

The report recommends the new stations be built over the next four years, but county leaders told Eyewitness News they first need to select the locations and go through the approval process.

Cox Media Group