VENICE, FL (WWSB) - The City of Venice's Fire Department has a building problem. Fire Station One has been falling apart for years, but there has been no money to fix it. Each time we go to the station, it seems there is another problem waiting to be fixed.
A hole in the roof is the prime example of the problems at Fire Station One. It was there a few years ago when we first visited, and it was there a couple weeks ago when we last visited.
"A big question is, how much money do we put in this place before we say enough is enough?" said one frustrated citizen.
That's the big question on everyone's mind – when is enough, enough? While city leaders attempt to come up with an answer, the firefighters and paramedics work around the issues.
Part of those problems, says Venice City Councilman Bob Daniels, could come from a faulty A/C system.
"It's got mold, the A/C units are pretty well shot, the air quality is bad inside, if you look in the back there are metal doors that are rusted," he says.
In fact, those doors aren't doors at all anymore. They're all just casually leaning against the department's storage building, not connected to anything.
Daniels has been an advocate for rebuilding the station for some time. It's hard to find anyone who disagrees, but even harder still to find is the money to do the rebuilding.