Hillsborough switches fire service contract from Tampa to Pasco, citing savings and response coverage

Pasco Fire Rescue will replace Tampa Fire Rescue as the contracted provider for services in the Pebble Creek, Cross Creek, East Meadows and Live Oak communities.

TAMPA, Fla. — Thousands of residents living in unincorporated Hillsborough County along the Pasco County line will soon see a different fire department responding when they call 911.

Beginning Oct. 1, Pasco County Fire Rescue will replace Tampa Fire Rescue as the contracted provider for fire services in the Pebble Creek, Cross Creek, East Meadows and Live Oak communities, as well as Wharton High School, under a new interlocal agreement approved by the Hillsborough County Commission.

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The change marks the latest chapter in a decades-long effort to provide fire protection to the rapidly growing area without building a costly new county fire station.

County officials say the move is driven by both economics and operations.

“There are fiscal and operational considerations for this,” Hillsborough County Fire Rescue spokesperson Rob Herrin said.

Under the agreement, Hillsborough County will pay Pasco County $250,000 annually beginning Oct. 1, with future increases tied to inflation. That’s significantly less than the nearly $890,000 Hillsborough was expected to pay Tampa in 2027 under its current agreement, which included annual increases of 5.8%.

Rather than constructing a new fire station, officials say partnering with a neighboring county provides comparable service at a much lower cost.

The agreement also calls for Hillsborough County to lease space inside Pasco Fire Station 26 near Bruce B. Downs Boulevard for about $29,000 per year, where one of Hillsborough’s rescue ambulances will be stationed to handle medical calls in the area while working alongside Pasco firefighters.

“We have this agreement with Pasco County now where we will have our closest unit respond,” Herrin said. “If our ambulance is transporting a patient out of the area, Pasco County will respond.”

Herrin said the arrangement also allows Hillsborough County to continue transporting patients and collecting ambulance transport revenue.

“Because Hillsborough County is the transport organization, we can now bill for the transport,” Herrin said. “Transport will be billable as well.”

For many residents, however, the savings come with one overriding question: Will emergency crews arrive just as quickly?

“I want to make sure that we’re not going to lose any of the benefits that we have now,” neighbor Erin Uhler said. “I want good response times and safety above all.”

She said lower costs alone won’t mean much if service suffers.

“Response times are very important because these are emergencies — life or death situations,” Uhler said.

Neighbor Ronald Penn agreed the financial savings are hard to ignore but said performance will ultimately determine whether the change is successful.

“You can’t ignore that savings,” Penn said. “But also we’re concerned about services — losing quality. We’ll have to see.”

Penn added that money and service must go hand in hand.

“Money is very important. Very important. But services is as well,” he said. “I can’t see how they wouldn’t provide quality service though.”

Response times have been at the center of previous debates over who should protect the area.

Hillsborough contracted with Pasco County after a previous agreement with Tampa ended in 2017, before returning to Tampa Fire Rescue in 2020 following complaints from residents and county leaders who argued Tampa’s stations could reach the neighborhoods faster.

More recently, Tampa officials have acknowledged response-time challenges in parts of New Tampa as continued growth has placed increasing demands on the system.

Herrin said county officials do not expect a significant difference under the new arrangement.

“Pasco Fire Station 26 is relatively close to one of the Tampa fire stations that was servicing that area, so I don’t think there’s much of a change,” he said.

County officials say mutual aid agreements between agencies will remain in place, and Hillsborough Fire Rescue plans to closely monitor response times after the transition.

“Moving forward, we will look at what the response times are for that particular unit, and we will analyze that and make adjustments as needed,” Herrin said.