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Neighbors still waiting on Seminole fire station to be built years after petition

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Channel 9 found out that a fire station is needed near the Aloma Woods subdivision.
On two occasions since 2012, children and pets were killed and firefighters said they could not get there in time.
The response times in the area are higher than national firefighter standards, and two years after neighbors petitioned to get a station, they are still waiting.

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A house on White Heron Place in the Aloma Woods neighborhood was reconstructed after a lightning strike in 2014 gutted it.

The family was OK, but their pets died in the fire.

The firefighters didn't get there in time.

“I kept wondering, ‘Where are the sirens?’ It was scary,” said Corinna Brown.

Brown lives across the street and watched as the house burned.

She then started a petition asking Seminole County to get Fire Station 29 up and running, but two years later, it's nowhere close to construction.

“Do you find that to be absurd?” asked Channel 9’s Shannon Butler.

“I do. It could be any of us next, or someone could have a heart attack or stroke, and they're still not going to be here in time to save somebody's life,” Brown said.

The fire station has been on the books for about a decade.

Several studies show that the response times in the area are nine to 10 minutes and the national average is four minutes.

The most recent study showed that there are about 3,400 calls for service in the area.

The fire department has the money to build the station, but the Seminole County Commission hasn't approved it, because there isn't money in the budget for staffing or equipment.

The fire department said the station is in the budget for the 2016-2017 year.  But even if it's approved, it still will be a long time before it's built.

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