SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Channel 9 found out a lack of special equipment at some Seminole County fire stations could have residents waiting longer for help if their house or business catches fire.
That’s because firefighters in some parts of the county don’t have the same equipment as others.
Channel 9’s Angela Jacobs learned there are only a handful of tower trucks in the county that are equipped with extending ladders meant to help fight fires in big buildings or houses.
The tower trucks are also effective in that the vehicles bring more water power, with hoses blowing thousands of gallons of water a minute, instead of hundreds on the ground.
Automatic first response includes two tower trucks in Seminole County, one in Sanford and a smaller one in Casselberry, making Station 36 in Heathrow just one of many without a tower truck.
The tower truck at Station 12 in Altamonte Springs is a highly coveted piece of machinery specially equipped with an extension ladder and bucket.
It’s often the most effective weapon in fighting fires more than two stories.
Jacobs went through the fire report from a massive house fire last week in Heathrow and found the first engine to respond arrived within 10 minutes from Station 36, followed by Station 34 and 35.
None of those stations have tower trucks.
The closest had to come from Station 12, arriving 22 minutes after the homeowner called 911.
The next nearest tower, owned by the city of Sanford and located downtown, leaves a large area of Seminole County with hotels, businesses and exclusive communities full of million dollar homes to rely on a tower’s travel time to potentially save a structure.
Seminole County fire officials said in an email that a recent tri-data study, “did identify the need for an additional tower truck in the northwest area of the county.”
Officials did not say if a timetable to add one has been set.
WFTV
