Fire at station forces Wildwood police to operate elsewhere

WILDWOOD, Fla. — Wildwood police are working out of several different buildings after a fallen power line led to a fire inside the department.

"We had a power line come down. The power line hit the fence. It energized the fence and it traveled the fence and jumped into the police department,” said Wildwood police Chief Paul Valentino. “In other words, we had an electrical fire within the police department in our equipment mechanical room."

The fire knocked out the power, so the department was forced to relocate its operations.

"Our dispatchers went over to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office and our dispatchers are receiving 911 calls taking calls and handling our administrative lines,” said Valentino.

Officials said any calls made to Wildwood police will be answered and dispatched as normal.

Officers have also been relocated to the Wildwood Community Center the department’s annex in Brownwood Square in The Villages.

"We do have a police department annex, so we located our road patrol to our annex," said Valentino.

Even though the building is closed, the chief said technology enables his officer to respond to emergencies as usual

"Everything is up and running and we're ready to go. It’s just our location has changed," said Valentino.

The city is planning to build a new police station, which should be done in about a year.

Cox Media Group