Hillsborough moving forward with Bealsville fire station

Hillsborough County will proceed with plans to relocate a fire station from Springhead to Bealsville Park, but it may also pursue more space for parking for the recreational complex.

The county plans to open a 9,000 square-foot fire station, complete with an ambulance, by 2012. Assistant Chief Ron Rogers of Hillsborough Fire Rescue said the new station will improve service to unincorporated east county.

At a March 2 public hearing, several Bealsville residents said they weren't necessarily against the county placing the fire station in the park but they said parking was already at a premium during sport events. Rogers and other county officials at the meeting said they he would relay those concerns to county commissioners to see if Hillsborough could pursue buying additional land near the park for parking.

Rogers said the fire station would be built in the southeast corner of the park, away from the recreation center and sports fields. A parking lot will be relocated and couple of trees will have to be taken down but Fire Rescue plans to "disrupt the park as little as possible," he said.

"The bottom line is you're not going to lose anything," he said.

Mark Thornton, director of county Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department, said the park at 5009 Nesmith Road already has a full complement of recreational facilities including a recreation center, concessions, restrooms and baseball, football and softball fields and that more couldn't be added even without the fire station.

County officials say security should improve at the park since firefighters will be there 24 hours a day.

Fire Rescue wants to close the Springhead station and relocate to Bealsville for a number of reasons, Rogers said. The Springhead station at 4503 Coronet Road is outdated, would be costly to renovate and doesn't have enough space to accommodate an ambulance, he said. Also, the station is only about a mile from one operated by Plant City Fire Rescue, so it makes sense to spread out the emergency crews, he said.

The county's ambulance currently operates from inside the city limits so moving it to Bealsville should improve response times, Rogers said. About 80 percent of calls to his agency are for medical emergencies, not fires, he said.

The new station will cost about $2 million.

Mike Kelly, director of the county's Real Estate Department, said the Springhead station site will be offered to the community for public use after it is vacated. Residents of Springhead donated the land to the county for the fire station many years ago.