The availability of critical emergency fire and rescue services for south Lakeland is the key for the growth of Lakeland.
Our City Commissioners need to understand that growth has to pay for growth…. So if the Commissioners approve growth then the infrastructure needs to be there ….. aka emergency fire and rescue services.
Will Lakeland Fire Department’s response time will continue to be impacted as the following projects begin construction:
- Gresham Trails, slated for 321 single-family homes
- Parkway Preserve with 300 apartments
- Amazon’s expansion of a 64,000 square-foot cargo sorting facility and truck bays
- Lakeland Central Park, a 740-acre industrial complex
In 2020, it took Station 7 (3150 Drane Field Rd) firefighters eight minutes on average to respond to a call for a structure fire.
That’s nearly two minutes longer than any other station in Lakeland.
Station 7 responded to 1,270 calls in 2020, according to Lakeland Fire Department’s annual report.
Fire Chief Doug Riley told city commissioners that the station’s location on the north side of the airport and heavy traffic on local roads result in lengthy response times.
“It’s a fairly short distance if we could go straight across airport, but we can’t,” Riley said. “If we use Hamilton or Waring roads to get to Morgan Creek and or River stone – We have nine- to 12-minute response times which we are not comfortable with,” said Riley.
One item the LFD could add is a recuse truck and two extra personnel to station 7, so the fire truck is also available for fires. Over 80% of the calls to the LFD are medical related so by using a recuse truck it’s a win –win for both the department and the taxpayers until a permanent station can be built.
Fire Union President stated, “We support the Chief Riley and it’s critical that emergency fire and rescue services are available to all taxpayers on a timely basis.”
There are two other county-owned fire stations in the Southwest corner of Lakeland, including Medulla Fire Department, and a new one that’s under construction. Medulla is currently only staffed on a volunteer basis, according to LFD Fire Chief Riley.
The fire chief said Lakeland has a mutual aid agreement with Polk County so medical emergencies will receive an ambulance immediately. However, Riley said calls for fires require the city to assess the situation and call Polk for help, if needed. “It’s not automatic, so it’s not always in a timely manner,” Riley said.