TAMPA, Fla. — The City of Tampa is waiting to rebuild a fire station on Davis Islands nearly a year after Hurricane Helene.
Adri Colina, Director of Logistics and Asset Management for the City of Tampa, said the hurricane in September of 2024 flooded Fire Station 17.
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"Fire Station 17, the Davis Islands station, sustained quite a bit of damage. At some point, we took in 3 feet of water and that damaged drywall and of course ruined all our furniture, HVAC equipment and electrical equipment was damaged. We also had some damage to our bay doors which is where the vehicles come in and out," said Colina.
Currently, firefighters cannot work or live at the fire station. They are only utilizing the bay.
"The only parts of the fire station that are able to be used is the bay where our vehicles come in and out of and as you can see because it’s concrete and then tile on the floor so the water didn’t damage it. Obviously, it underwent remediation to get it cleaned and ready," said Colina.
Colina said the city secured eight modulars or trailers where firefighters work, cook, shower and sleep.
"We had eight modulars delivered for our sleeping quarters. We have storage, a kitchen and a dining area. It was really really good that we placed a hold on them right after Helene, October 2nd to be exact, and then October 6th, Hurricane Milton was coming so we had to put a pause on that order, but thankfully....we were able to secure eight brand new modular units for our firefighters post Milton. Many other jurisdictions were looking for them. They were not able to get new and not as many as we got," said Colina.
Colina said city officials are working to secure federal and state grants to rebuild the fire station.
"So currently , Tampa Fire Rescue was working very closely with the city's budget office and specifically our grants team. We have submitted several grant applications, both federal and state funding, to be able to demolish and rebuild this station building upward," said Colina.
Colina said about 5 to 7 firefighters work at a given time. The marine unit also operated out of Fire Station 17.
"This station also serves the waterways so everyone out on a boat. God forbid, you need to call the fire department, this is the station that responds to you so right here on Davis Islands this station is imperative that we build and build up for sustainability and build for a long time to come so we’re competing with others, waiting to hear back where we are with it and once that comes, we’re ready to go forward to rebuild," said Colina.
The fire station was built in 1958. Colina said a timeline to rebuild the station will depend on securing funding.
"The team has just been so resilient and just so flexible and they're incredible," she said.
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