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Cutting down first responder travel times
The firefighters' union in Tampa is pushing for more resources for Tampa Fire Rescue and addressing concerns over travel times. FOX 13's Kylie Jones reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - The firefighters' union in Tampa is pushing for more resources for Tampa Fire Rescue and addressing concerns over travel times.
The Tampa Firefighters Local 754 shared data showing TFR travel times for each station around the city.
The union says TFR recently relocated a unit from a fire station with one of the longest travel times.
Lengthy travel times
By the numbers:
According to NFPA 1710, the industry standard travel time for the first-arriving fire units is four minutes for 90% of emergency incidents.
According to data that the Tampa Firefighters Local 754 shared, the travel time for every fire station in the city is longer than the industry standard. Fire union representatives say it's not uncommon to have a travel time that's a few minutes higher than the standard, but some stations in Tampa have a travel time that's more than twice the standard.
Specifically, Stations 20 through 23, which are in and around New Tampa, have some of the highest travel times in the city, ranging from about 9 and a half minutes to more than 10 and a half minutes.
Tampa's growth straining fire resources
What they're saying:
The Tampa Firefighters Local 754 President Nick Stocco says that over the last several years, as Tampa has grown, response times have also grown.
Stocco says fire resources haven't been able to keep up with the region's growth, at times.
"Just this past Sunday, one of the units was relocated from Station 23 that services New Tampa, and the relocation of that unit was relocating down to Ybor City," Stocco said.
City leaders say they've been told that the call volume in Ybor is much higher than in New Tampa.
"In New Tampa, it's more of a geographical issue," Stocco said. "There's more distance and more area to cover in the urban area, than the inner-city. The urban core is more of a density issue."
Resource allocation
Some city leaders say the New Tampa area also can't afford to lose resources.
"I think there is a larger discussion we have to have, which is on available resources for Tampa Fire Rescue, and why are we to the point where we're taking a vehicle out of New Tampa," Tampa City Council member Luis Viera said. "Where four out of five of the stations with the longest response times are from New Tampa."
Viera says every station around the city should be adequately funded and staffed.
Viera and the union say the move exposes a bigger gap than just travel times.
"We hope that there's advocacy for additional units," Stocco said. "In an environment where we're seeing longer response times by year, we should be adding units and not relocating units."
What's next:
Tampa City Council is expected to get a briefing on fire rescue response times and coverage in New Tampa, with particular attention to the K-Bar Ranch community, at its meeting on Thursday. According to city council's agenda, TFR Chief Barbara Tripp is expected to brief council members.
FOX 13 reached out to TFR ahead of the meeting and will update this story when we hear back.
The Source: Information was gathered from interviews conducted with a Tampa City Council member, the Tampa Firefighters Local 754 and the NFPA 1710.