New fire station opens in Cape Coral

A new fire station has opened in Cape Coral that is expected to serve 20,000 people.

Fire station 12 is located off of Chiquita Boulevard in west-central Cape Coral.

The goal is to serve more people quickly.

The Cape Coral Fire Department wants to respond to emergencies in less than 10 minutes from the time the emergency is reported.

“With 20,000 people in its jurisdiction alone is larger than over 600 other cities in the state of Florida,” said Cape Coral Fire Chief Ryan Lamb.

The city identified a desperate need for service in the west-central area of Cape Coral.

“We were already behind the curve with response times before we’ve seen the big influx in growth so we knew we needed it then even before the explosion of growth in the area,” said Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter.

Cape Coral fire was seeing response times of 12 to 13 minutes.

More than the department’s goal of less than 10 minutes.

Lamb said every minute counts, especially in an emergency.

“It’s important we provide a consistent high level of service across our community. That way no matter where you live in Cape Coral we feel confident you’re going to get a fire truck to your emergency very quickly,” Lamb said.

Station 12 will cover 8.5 miles of west-central Cape, taking over areas covered by three other stations.

The station is expected to take 2,500 calls per year.

“Chiquita and Pine Island Road is pretty close to the dead center of Cape Coral. So this station specifically will alleviate some of the needs by having a central location,” said Cape Coral Councilman Robert Welsh, who represent District 5.

The 10,000 square-foot facility cost the city $4.5 million. Because of the need for better response times, the city expedited construction ahead of fire stations. It was completed in 11 months.