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Pasco opening new fire rescue station to accommodate housing boom

Posted at 4:53 PM, Sep 17, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-17 18:32:48-04

WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — All over Pasco County, you’ll see construction. The new home boom is especially big around Wesley Chapel.

"We are issuing 300 permits a month in this county. So you can imagine how fast this community is growing," said Pasco County commissioner Ron Oakley.

Several new communities are popping up, including Epperson with 2,000 houses and eventually, the opening of its Crystal Lagoon.

But with all the new homes, there is the serious need for a fire station.

"There is a gap here, we are in the middle of a big gap. We have Station 13 that is to the west of us. We have Station 26 and 27 that are to the east of us," said Deputy Fire Chief Andrew Fossa.

Pasco Fire Rescue says its average response time for a call is about 8-10 minutes, but they want it closer to six minutes.

They say the new Station 38 on Overpass Road will help make that happen.

"It will hopefully reduce those times. We have rescues, we have engine companies, but when we pull trucks out of one zone, we depend on trucks from another zone to cover that area," said Fossa.

This will be Pasco County's first new fire station in almost a decade, but it won't be the last.

There is hope to build another in the large Connected City community nearby.

"We are trying to keep the wear and tear down on the rescues; the wear and tear down on our employees," said Fossa.

Station 38 is set to open next fall.