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Fire Station Groundbreaking Set

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE

dlwhite@tampatrib.com

Published: February 7, 2009

SEFFNER - Their job is to put out fires. But there have been times during the past four years that members of the Seffner-Mango Volunteer Fire Rescue Association felt like lighting a fire beneath Hillsborough County officials to get their permanent fire station constructed sooner.

The volunteers have been operating out of a 1,300-square-foot house at Kingsway and Cactus roads for four years while waiting for the county to construct a permanent fire station at 105 Cactus Road.

Now, with a groundbreaking scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday, the crew of Fire Station No. 18 is finally seeing some progress.

"We're very excited," said Chief Robert Van Etten, who heads the squad of 19 active volunteer firefighters.

Van Etten, who retired as a Hillsborough County Fire Rescue battalion chief after 25 years of service, took over the volunteer association after the former chief, Bradley Price, was accused by Hillsborough fire Chief William Nesmith of poor management practices.

The county disbanded the volunteer fire department, confiscated equipment and declared the old fire station at 1706 S. Kingsway Road unfit for habitation due to mold.

The new 7,300-square-foot fire station is scheduled to be completed in November. It will have three bays and will house the station's fire engine, brush truck and chief's vehicle, as well as a tanker. Van Etten also hopes to have an ambulance stationed there.

The $1.6 million facility will be open 24 hours a day and have office and living facilities for firefighters.

Hillsborough operates 41 fire stations, six of them run by volunteers. There also are volunteer stations in Bloomingdale, Cork-Knights, Dover, Lutz and Sundance.

County officials say volunteer firefighters save taxpayers about $6 million each year.
Van Etten said volunteers at his station go on 185 to 210 calls each month.

"There's a big demand for firefighters and paramedics," he said, adding that the Seffner-Mango station can have 40 volunteers. In addition to the 19 serving now, he has another 12 firefighters in training.

"The problem is, many of these firefighters are waiting for a chance to be career firefighters," Van Etten said. "As soon as I get them trained and they get their certification, the county hires them on, and I lose them."
Van Etten also is seeking residents to serve on the association's board of directors. He said he's looking for people who live in the community and have backgrounds in administration, banking and law. Applications are available at the fire station.

Reporter D'Ann Lawrence White can be reached at (813) 657-4524.

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