Hillsborough County Fire Rescue replacing three 60-year-old stations

TAMPA, Fla. - Hillsborough County Fire Rescue is replacing three 60-year-old fire stations with state-of-the-art facilities. 

The backstory:

Rob Herrin, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue's public information chief, said this has been several years in the making. 

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"We've seen tremendous growth in the area. Hillsborough County specifically. There's a finite amount of growth until you start getting what used to be rural Hillsborough County is now suburban really," he said.

Some are stuck in the '60s.

"Station 15, for example, was built in 1964, so it's 61 years old," he said. "A lot has changed since then." 

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Herrin said station 15 in Palm River is located in a flood zone. During heavy rain and flooding events like last year's hurricanes, firefighters have to evacuate, and response times take a hit. 

"You're already faced with challenges of just traversing roads with trees down, and now you're a distance away," he explained. 

Station 15's sleeping quarters are also outdated. 

"It was a volunteer station, so people that responded from there may not have lived there," Herrin said. "Now, we have full-time firefighters who are obviously there 24 hours a day." 

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Dorms are separated by partial walls and curtains. Herrin said apparatuses also have to back into the bay. 

Dig deeper:

Herrin said soon those issues will be resolved at Stations 10, 13 and 15. 

"We're happy to announce, as we speak, we have three fire stations being reconstructed," he said.

The new replacement stations are located fairly close to their respective stations and are modeled after Station 45 on Oakfield Drive in Brandon. 

"With these new builds really for all three stations, they're going to be scalable, we're going to be able to add more apparatus, more personnel," he said. "They're going to come with advances in technology."

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Technology like decontamination rooms. 

"Firefighters come back from fighting fires with carcinogens on their person and in their gear," he said. "They're going to be able to decontaminate that in between the bay and where they live."

The replacement stations will also have laundry rooms, something they do not currently have. Plus, upgraded living spaces, gyms and enclosed dorms.

What's next:

Station 15 construction is slated to be completed in February 2026. Stations 10 and 13 will be finished that summer. 

Herrin said the construction of three new fire stations recently got the green light. 

"We're adding to our list of fire stations and that's going to tremendously help with response times," he said. "That's the goal. We need to get to you as quickly as we can." 

Those stations will be 47, 48, and 49 in North Sun City, South Progress Village and Town 'n' Country. 

Hillsborough County