Council advised: Cape needs three new fire stations
Stations need to be in place and operational by 2031 to meet the need, data analyst says
The city of Cape Coral needs three additional fire stations Cape Coral City Council was advised Wednesday.
Fewer than 80% of all calls are answered in six minutes or less with some of the lower numbers located north of Pine Island Road, Metro Forecasting Models Project Manager David Farmer said during the budget workshop.
Within the last two years the city gained approximately 9,700 new housing units and growth is driving the need for station houses and personnel, he said.
By 2050, 90,000 new residents are expected in Cape Coral with more than 16,000 housing units added north of Pine Island Road by 2040.
There are currently 13 fire stations in Cape Coral, with eight of those south of Pine Island Road.
Farmer said the distance between stations is significant on the Old Burnt Store Road corridor.
He highlighted Stations 5, 7 and 11, as they are having the hardest time keeping up with existing calls.
For Fire Station 5, out of the 16,548 total calls, 12,977 calls were answered in six minutes. Station 7 had 2,646 total calls with 826 calls answered in six minutes and Station 11 had 6,880 total calls with 5,048 calls answered in six minutes.
Farmer said they determined three new stations are needed to meet the immediate needs and existing demand, adding they need to be in place and operational by 2031 to meet the need.
“We need Stations 14, 15, and 16. It does take years to plan these and the time is now to start ordering fire trucks and engage design professionals, so we don’t have unnecessary loss of life and overloading of fire professionals,” he said.
Cape Coral Fire Department Chief Mike Russell said the placement of Stations 14, 15, and 16 were identified through geography and call concurrence.
They worked with the city Finance Department last year and created a contract to help define when they want units to be delivered – what months, which could be amended if additional units are needed to be delivered if a station opened.
“It would take us three years to get the first station operational,” Russell said if the city took action today.
Mayor John Gunter said with a station taking three years to open, and three new stations identified, Council has yet to have any discussions on how to fund them and bring them on board.
“It’s going to take three years to get doors open – it tells me we have to be fairly aggressive in the next several years to get three stations open, additional equipment and additional personnel,” Gunter said. “How are we going to back into it to meet that end goal?”
Council asked if it was plausible to add onto existing stations, or build new ones larger to accommodate future growth.
Russell said their intent is to build additional bay space and personnel space at older stations that can accommodate the new capacity. The newer stations would be built to accommodate additional growth.
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