Twelve years after voters agreed to build ten fire stations, three are still on the drawing board with little chance of being built any time soon. A new downtown firehouse was supposed to help the city keep up with increased calls spurred on by new skyscrapers.
And two on the beach -- near Sunrise Boulevard and Oakland Park Boulevard -- were planned to replace aging, decaying stations and their cramped quarters.
The demand for fire-rescue services has never been greater. Service calls increased 12 percent last year and topped 50,000 for the first time ever. Fire Chief Robert Hoecherl expects the number to pass 60,000 this year and to continue rising based on the city's growing population.
The volume of calls is starting to impact response times, Deputy Chief Tim Heiser said, and the department is requesting 17 new positions and more vehicles in the upcoming budget.
The proposed downtown station, near Andrews Avenue and Southwest 17th Street, would improve response times south of the New River, officials said, and relieve pressure on the downtown's Fire Station 2, which was ranked the nation's busiest in 2013.
Thornie Jarrett, chairman of the advisory committee charged with overseeing the 2004 program, said the unbuilt stations are needed "to give the fire personnel the equipment they need to do their job."
A firehouse in Birch State Park was built for two fire-rescue vehicles and houses four. The station near Oakland Park Boulevard has already been demolished and crews have been working from a temporary station for more than a year.
Mayor Jack Seiler said the delays have been beyond the city's control, because of agreements it has needed with other parties: a land-swap with the state at Birch State Park, a land-swap with Bokamper's Sports Bar & Grill for the Oakland Park Boulevard area station and an agreement with All Aboard Florida for the downtown site.
Even if all those obstacles were overcome, the city may not be able to do all three stations because of skyrocketing costs. The city has about $12 million left from the $40 million bond referendum in 2004, but officials now put the cost of the remaining three stations closer to $20 million.