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New firehouse to rise on Cross Creek Blvd.

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By KENNETH KNIGHT

kknight@tampatrib.com

Published: October 21, 2009

NEW TAMPA - Thanks to a winning grant proposal, Tampa will receive more than $1.6 million in federal stimulus money to begin the construction of Fire Station No. 22 on Cross Creek Boulevard this year.

The city will be awarded money through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a program enacted this year by President Barack Obama and Congress to help fire departments nationwide with fire station construction costs.

"It was a very quick grant by the president ... to get the economy growing," said Tampa Assistant Fire Chief Scott Ehlers, who authored the grant proposal and submitted the paperwork to federal officials July 10.

City officials are preparing to award a contract to one of 27 companies vying to build Fire Station No. 22 at 10817 Cross Creek Blvd., an undeveloped parcel spanning nearly 8 acres just west of Morris Bridge Road. The project is expected to begin in November and be completed in less than a year.

A new firehouse is needed to help reduce response times from Tampa Fire Station No. 21 - the nearest firehouse, on Cross Creek Boulevard near Bruce B. Downs Boulevard - to communities on New Tampa's eastern edge and portions of unincorporated Hillsborough County.

The Fire Station 22 construction project was one of 96 awarded a grant from among about 6,000 applications submitted nationwide, said Ehlers, the assistant chief of operations.

In Florida, only six projects were selected. The proposed fire station on Cross Creek Boulevard near Morris Bridge Road was the lone choice from the Tampa Bay area.

The grant is expected to cover nearly all costs associated with building the firehouse.

The bids submitted for an 8,660-square-foot firehouse with three drive-through bays ranged from $1.4 million to $2.1 million. The offers cover the cost of labor, equipment and construction material. The city must accept the lowest qualified bid.

The city had set aside money from the Community Investment Tax for a potentially $2 million construction project. That money can now be used for other projects, Ehlers said.

A six-minute response time from Fire Station No. 21 to the area - sprinkled with schools, shopping plazas and the sprawling Arbor Greene, Cory Lake Isles, Heritage Isles and K-Bar Ranch subdivisions - is considered adequate, Tampa Fire Capt. Bill Wade said.

He expressed concern, however, about having to depend on a rescue unit from a station farther away should an emergency occur and the engine from Fire Station No. 21 be responding to another call. That could make the response time excessive.

The city purchased the land for Fire Station 22 two years ago for $750,000, a Tampa Fire Rescue news release said.

The contract calls for building a fire station and parking lot on 2 acres; the remainder of the land will be used for conservation. Four-member teams, made up of a captain, driver and two firefighters, will staff the station around the clock. The crew will be trained to provide fire rescue and paramedic services.

To help cover the cost of 15 positions at Fire Station 22, Tampa Fire Rescue also received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The agency's Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, or SAFER, grant will pump in about $4 million over the next five years to help the city hire 36 new firefighters to enhance fire protection services citywide.

"I've been very fortunate to get both grants I've written," Ehlers said.

Reporter Kenneth Knight can be reached at (813) 259-7413.

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