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Tampa Fire Rescue needs more firefighters, better equipment, says interim chief

Interim Fire Chief Barbara Tripp says a reshuffling will lead to immediate relief for North Tampa.
 
Tampa Fire Rescue needs more fire fighters and better equipment, interirm Fire Chief Barbara Tripp told City Council members on Thursday.
Tampa Fire Rescue needs more fire fighters and better equipment, interirm Fire Chief Barbara Tripp told City Council members on Thursday. [ Tampa Fire Rescue ]
Published Jan. 15, 2021

TAMPA — After hearing about firefighters resorting to cell phones to find their way to fires because of aging equipment and first-hand accounts of overburdened personnel at Tampa Fire Rescue, City Council member Joseph Citro said he had heard enough.

“We better make sure our fire department is growing as fast as our city is,” Citro said, who had called attention to an internal audit showing that the department’s outdated navigational and communication systems were causing crews to miss their standard response times to calls.

His colleague, Orlando Gudes, was blunt: “I’m pissed. I’m really pissed.”

City technology officials said help is on the way. Fire crews have been given iPads as a temporary stopgap until $1.2 million in new technology can be put in place, beginning by mid-February and completed by October.

Still, interim Fire Chief Barbara Tripp said more help is needed in the short and long terms to keep residents of a fast-growing city safe.

“We need more units on the streets and more stations,” she told council members.

Tripp outlined a plan to do just that. In the next month, an engine, additional personnel and extended peak hour crews will ease the burden on North Tampa’s Station 13, at 2713 E. Annie St., which handled more than 11,000 calls last year, about 1/7 of the city’s total for its 23 stations.

That news pleased Council member Luis Viera, who has been advocating for better fire service for his North Tampa and New Tampa district.

“It’s an abomination what’s happened out at Station 13,” Viera said. “I’m willing to put up hammer and nails, financially, to fix this.”

Longer term, the city needs two new fire stations in North Tampa and downtown to keep up with an influx of residents and businesses, Tripp said. How much that will cost is still being worked out, she said.

Tripp’s first presentation before council members comes amidst a continuing investigation that has sidelined Chief Nick LoCicero, appointed by former Mayor Bob Buckhorn in 2018. LoCicero and two other high-level fire department leaders have been placed on administrative leave since November, for what sources say involves time card violations.

Related: Time card misues at issue in LoCicero investigation

On Wednesday, Mayor Jane Castor told the Tampa Bay Times that the investigation is being conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement because it also involves the Hillsborough County Schools and Hillsborough Community College.

Several council members praised Tripp Thursday for her quick response to their concerns. Citro said he hopes Tripp becomes the permanent chief to correct what he said were serious shortcomings in her agency.

“How does this slip through the cracks?” he asked.

Fire union officials said the outdated equipment and lack of personnel have been frustrating and dangerous challenges.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous in a city the size of Tampa,” said union president Joe Greco.