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Fire Rescue To Show Off Blanton Station

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By LISA A. DAVIS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 18, 2008

BLANTON - For about three years, two Pasco Fire Rescue companies worked out of Station No. 24 in Dade City, running calls from city limits to Darby, Trilby and Blanton, a huge area by anyone's calculations.

One company packed its bags, ladders and fire trucks last month and moved into its new digs about 6 1/2 miles away.
Blanton Station No. 36 has been operating since Dec. 28, but its official unveiling to the community will be at 11 a.m. Saturday when local dignitaries and community members will gather for a dedication ceremony. The public also is invited.

What they'll see at 64516 Blanton Road is a shiny three-bay, 7,075-square-foot fire station. The $1.7 million structure was built by Bandes Construction and completed 10 months after its groundbreaking last year.

"We've been waiting to get this up and running," Acting Assistant Chief Mike Ciccarello said.

Fifteen crew members take shifts to staff the fire station 24 hours a day, seven days a week, responding to everything from medical calls to car accidents to house fires.

"It's certainly going to provide faster response times to the immediate area," Ciccarello said, adding that emergency workers are now closer to Interstate 75 for crash calls, helping out Station No. 27 in San Antonio. "It just fills that void up there in the Blanton area."

Community members such as Ted Vaughan, owner of Vaughan's Country Store, next to the new station, are excited about their new neighbor.

"It's the best thing that's ever happened," he said. "I love it, not just because we're next door but because I live out here, too."

Vaughan said he's never needed to call on Pasco Fire Rescue, but he certainly appreciates the facility being close.

"It's just peace of mind," he said.

Capt. Dennis Smith said Thursday "so far so good" on the move. He concedes they haven't been as busy as Station No. 24 at 14317 Fourth St., Dade City, and they haven't yet been able to see a real change in response times but, he said, it's a great spot.

The station was built from one of two design plans the county is using and features new code requirements with a sprinkler system for the entire building and a structure with more support for hurricanes, Ciccarello said.

Inside there are nine individual dorms for personnel, a common area, a storage area and a small gym with equipment. A fire engine, ambulance, brush truck and a 3,000-gallon tanker/foam tender (mostly for highway crashes) are based at the new station.

Crews here, though, are perhaps most proud of a colleague's contribution to the fire house.

Firefighter Jason Tucker built a 4-foot-by-10-foot cherry dining table, complete with inlaid designs and signed by this original company.

"He wanted to have something special," Smith said. "We all love it. It's a great table."

And, he said, it's a great way to preserve the station's history with the crew's names protected under varnish.

Now that this station is done, the county is on to other projects. About four or five fire stations are out to bid, Ciccarello said.

And construction of Station No. 39 at Heritage Pines on the Pasco-Hernando county line is under way. It should be completed by the end of the year, Ciccarello said.

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083 or ldavis@tampatrib.com.

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