CAPE CORAL, Fla. — While you hope you never are in a situation where you are forced to call 9-1-1 for help, you do hope that the response comes in a timely manner. The Cape Coral Fire Department says its goal is to respond to 90% of calls within 10 minutes. Fire Chief Ryan Lamb his department isn’t meeting that goal, reinforcing the need for additional fire stations within the city.
“We have seen a lot of growth of not only residences but of businesses. So, it is important to match city services to city growth,” said Chief Lamb.
The City of Cape Coral is the 6th fastest-growing city in the state of Florida since 2020. In fact, the city has seen about a 25% growth over the last 10 years, 7% of that in the last 2 years.
With a growing population, comes the need for expanded city services such as fire coverage. In order to meet that demand, Cape Coral broke ground on 4 new fire stations over the last 5 years.
“Cape Coral is one of the fastest growing cities in the state of Florida. Actually, it is one of the fast-growing cities in the nation,” said Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter. “And as a result of that, we have to make sure our public safety keeps up with that process as well.”
Right now, Station 2 along Nicolas Parkway and Station 5 along Diplomat Parkway are the busiest two firehouses in the City.
And in order to relieve pressure off those two stations, Cape Coral Fire Department broke ground along NE 6th Street on Thursday, which will be the future home of Station 13.
“The whole city is going to see a benefit because fewer trucks are going to be pulled into this area,” said Chief Lamb. “And when you have a fire, it takes what we call an effective fire force to be able to get 3 engines on to that scene to be able to properly deal with that emergency.”
Chief Lamb seeing that response time reduced could make all the difference when first responders are on a scene.
“Time matters. And seconds matter,” said Chief Lamb. “The quicker we can get out and provide that service. It is important, and not only for the distance that we cover but because of the number of calls we continue to see.”
Cape Coral Fire Department says they have seen an 11% increase in call volume over the last year, on top of the additional 20% they saw the year before. With Cape Coral expect to continue to grow, the department has 3 additional fire stations already part of its master plan.
As for Station 13, construction is expected to be complete by December of this year and expected to serve the city for at least the next 50 years.
