Fire Station 13 breaks ground in northeast Cape Coral

A new fire station is being built in northeast Cape Coral to cut down on response times.

Fire Station 13 is going in between two existing fire stations and will help with all the growth being seen in Southwest Florida’s largest city. The station will be on Northeast 6th Street, between stations 2 and 5.

Cape Coral city leaders broke ground on Thursday afternoon.

Fire Chief Ryan Lamb says it’s only one of four new stations coming to Cape Coral.

“Our master plan is looking at about 16 fire stations, and so we still have 14, 15 and 16 [left],” Lamb said. “In the plans right now, we’ve got land, and a lot of that’s going to be based off of growth.”

When Fire Station 13 opens, the city expects response times to improve instantly. Fire Station 2 and Fire Station 5, on either side of it, are the busiest departments in the city.

Lamb says they’ve seen an 11% increase in calls in the last year.

“We have a goal of—from the time somebody calls 911 to showing up at their front door—[getting there] within 10 minutes 90% of the time,” Lamb said.

Lamb admits this doesn’t always happen. In a true emergency, he knows every second counts.

“A fire doubles in size every 30 seconds,” Lamb said. “If you’re having a heart attack or myocardial infarction, the time is tissue.”

The building will cost the city almost $7.5 million to complete.

But Mayor John Gunter isn’t much concerned with the price tag.

“If you look at the last several years, the cost of goods and services definitely went up,” Gunter said. “But when it comes to public safety, you know, that is first and foremost.”

Construction should be complete by December.

As more people come to the city of Cape Coral, Firefighters feel the heat. More homes and businesses mean more calls for help.

“In this particular area in northeast Cape Coral, we’ve seen a lot of growth not only of residences but of businesses. And so it’s important that we continue to match city services to city growth,” said Lamb.

The new facility will house a four-person fire engine, which should help firefighters better their response times. Right now, the goal is to get there within 10 minutes, but it doesn’t always happen in northeast Cape, where the city’s busiest fire stations are located.

“Even though this area is going to see an increase, the whole city is going to see a benefit because less trucks are going to have to be pulled into this area,” Lamb said.

More trucks on the road throughout the city means more employment opportunities. Fire Chief Lamb said 15 firefighters have already been offered positions.

Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter said construction opportunities would also open up, bringing some potential economic benefits to the area temporarily. “Some of these types of projects, outside contractors come in, they’re going to have housing needs. I’m sure there’ll be visiting our businesses over that time period.”