The City of Tampa and Tampa Fire Rescue are making great progress in the transformation of Fire Station 25, where construction has already started to convert the existing building into an exclusive “rescue station” to serve North Tampa.
In September, Tampa City Council approved around $3.4M to provide Fire Station 25 with four additional personnel and two new rescue cars. This newly renovated fire station will play a pivotal role in easing the burden on surrounding fire stations and protecting families in North Tampa.
Fire Station 25 will operate solely as a rescue station, which means trained firefighter paramedics assigned there will solely respond to ill and injured patients with ambulances. This is especially critical for this area of North Tampa, where around 85 percent of the calls for service are medical.
“We are excited to see the progress happening in Station 25,” Chief Barbara Tripp said. “Even as we continue to gather data to ensure Tampa has America’s best fire rescue department, we are improving service to meet our community’s needs. This new station will allow us to continue to shorten our response times in a fast-growing area of Tampa.”
The renovation of Fire Station 25 will specifically help support Fire Station 13, one of the busiest fire stations in the country.
“For too long the men and women of Fire Station 13 have carried a disproportionately heavy burden of service calls," said Councilman Luis Viera, who serves this part of North Tampa. "These hard-fought-for improvements will go a long way to providing much-needed relief to the firefighters working in North Tampa and the residents they serve. I thank Mayor Castor and Chief Tripp for their collaboration and leadership in making these critical improvements in public safety.”
Fire Station 25, located at 710 E. Fairbanks, is at the old Fire Station 11. Before construction began, the Tampa Police Department’s K9 Unit was utilizing the building for training.
These were funds that came about due to federal American Rescue Plan (ARPA) Act money, supported by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14).
Tampa Fire Rescue leaders estimate the new facility should be complete in January 2022.