9 Investigates

9 Investigates: After years of delays, construction of Fire Station 29 near Oviedo may start soon

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Seminole County residents who have waited for a promised fire station for nearly a decade could soon finally be better protected.

9 Investigates has been following the delays in building Station 29 near Oviedo after a downturn in the economy put the plans on hold indefinitely.

Seminole County has been holding on to the money needed to build the station for years, but will need even more money to bring the plans to fruition due to staffing and equipment costs.

Officials said they could build on the site by the end of the year.  The location is a half-mile away from the Jamestown community, where three people lost their lives in a fire four years ago.

A charred pole that once held a "private propert"y sign is one of the only remnants of the tragedy.

“It was tough seeing the structure of the house for a year and a half.  You could see it and smell it every time you came outside,” neighbor Leon Wright told us.

The lot was recently cleared of the debris left behind from the electrical fire that killed three of Wright’s friends.

“We are close knit here; everyone grew up together and know each other.  We went to school with everybody, growing up for years, and something tragic like this happened, and someone was dead,” Wright said.

The fire was a half-mile away from the planned home of Fire Station 29, a project county leaders put on hold due to the economy.  9 Investigates found the county has had the money in reserves to build the station since before that fatal fire.  A 2012 capital improvement plan shows more than $4 million in reserves for the project, including impact fee funding which has since increased.

“It’s frustrating on both sides.  The money is there, there's no two ways about it, but we have to balance that money to keep the entire county protected,” Assistant Fire Chief Richard Stover said.

The county still needs more money to staff the station before a possible 2018 opening, at a cost of around $1 million.

The $800,000 in equipment purchased for the location years ago was sent to another station, meaning the county will have to buy another firetruck, too.

“It's one of the holes we have. It's a busier area of the county, and it's a desperate need to protect the citizens of that area,” Stover said.

Still, even when the extra protection is in place, Wright will always wonder if more could have been done to save his friends next door.

“That’s sad, that’s a tragedy. What can you do?  I don’t know what to do about it,” Wright said.

Assistant Chief Stover said the project could be presented to county commissioners for approval within the next month.

Karla Ray

Karla Ray, WFTV.com

Karla Ray anchors Eyewitness News This Morning on Saturday and Sundays, and is an investigative reporter for the 9 Investigates unit.