St. Pete Fire Rescue plans for a bigger, taller city

St. Petersburg has added roughly 19,000 residents since 2010, while cranes and high-rises have reshaped parts of its skyline.

St. Petersburg Fire Rescue is planning a new headquarters and Station 1 at the Tropicana Field site, studying additional fire stations and preparing to modernize existing facilities as it tries to keep pace.

City Council unanimously approved the department’s 2026-2031 strategic plan Thursday.

St. Petersburg had an estimated 264,033 residents in 2025, up from 244,769 in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Fire Rescue’s reach is larger, with the department estimating it serves roughly 300,000 people across 70 square miles.

That service area generated more than 67,000 requests for emergency service last year, according to the strategic plan.

Despite the name, much of the department’s work happens outside burning buildings. Fire Rescue provides advanced life-support medical care along with fire suppression, hazardous-materials response, technical rescue and marine rescue. The volume of medical work had grown enough by 1993 that the former St. Petersburg Fire Department changed its name to St. Petersburg Fire Rescue.

Today, 357 sworn emergency responders work from 13 fixed facilities. Each shift includes a rescue captain and two rescue lieutenants who respond to complex medical calls and oversee patient care, while specialized teams handle technical rescues, hazardous materials and emergencies on the water.

Speed is part of what the department is trying to preserve. Its current standards call for the first unit to reach 90% of priority structure fires within seven minutes and an advanced-life-support unit to reach 90% of priority medical calls within eight minutes and 30 seconds.

Whether those resources can keep pace with St. Petersburg’s growth was a central question as the department developed its new plan.

Twenty community stakeholders participated in the process, representing community groups, businesses, health care, education and other interests. Keeping pace with growth emerged as their top concern. Participants questioned whether the department has the equipment to reach new downtown high-rises and whether its resources are keeping up with population growth.

The written strategic plan identifies a future combined headquarters and Station 1 at the Tropicana Field site. Fire Rescue’s existing headquarters houses more than 40 administrative employees, along with fire inspection, community risk reduction, training, logistics and other operations. It also doubles as the department’s Emergency Operations Center when needed.

During Thursday’s presentation, Deputy Fire Chief Brett Ciskoski said Fire Rescue leaders are also involved in early planning for additional stations in District 2. At the same time, the department has existing stations and facilities that will need work.

“So, it’s not just new growth, but it’s maintaining those buildings that we already have,” Ciskoski said.

The plan does not commit the city to building every project it identifies. Fire Chief Keith Watts said during Thursday’s presentation that the department is concentrating first on readiness, officer development and immediate operational improvements. More expensive projects are farther out and could require grants, other funding sources or a phased approach.

Some of that investment is already moving forward. The city sought proposals this summer for construction management services tied to a new fire training facility on 22nd Street South.

Maintaining the department’s standing is also part of the equation. Fire Rescue is internationally accredited and holds an ISO Property Protection Class 1 rating, the highest classification awarded through the Insurance Services Office system.

Fire Rescue is expanding training and trying to build a larger pool of employees ready to move into leadership positions. The department has brought National Fire Academy courses to St. Petersburg, developed a guide laying out requirements for advancement and held a three-day internal job fair focused on career development.

Watts said Thursday that promotion standards have not changed. What has changed, he said, is the department’s effort to identify promising employees and make sure they understand how to prepare for those jobs.

The department is also planning a fitness initiative for January and expanding its focus on mental wellness and resiliency. Other goals include senior fall and fire prevention programs, community paramedicine partnerships and outreach in underserved neighborhoods.

How much of the department’s longer-term plan St. Petersburg can afford remains an open question.

Funding also surfaced during Thursday’s discussion as council members raised Amendment 3, a property-tax measure headed to Florida voters in November. The proposal would reduce the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property from 10% to 5%. Council members questioned what the resulting revenue changes could mean for public safety and the city’s ability to carry out plans like the one they had just approved.

St. Petersburg is already laying the groundwork for another potential source of fire funding. The city previously adopted an ordinance allowing a fire readiness fee but has never imposed it.

Administration officials said during Thursday’s meeting that the city has an active request for proposals for a consultant to develop the assessment methodology that would be needed if officials eventually pursue the fee. Proposals are due Sept. 22.

The work does not mean residents are getting a new fee. No fire readiness fee has been levied, and further action would be required before the city could collect one. For now, officials are preparing the option while they await the outcome of the November election.

Whatever happens with the city’s finances, Watts said preparing Fire Rescue for the next five years also means thinking beyond the people running it today.

The chief said the department has been deliberately identifying employees with leadership potential and encouraging them to prepare for advancement, an effort he sees as important to leaving the organization ready for its next generation.

“We have a deep bench,” Watts said during Thursday’s meeting. “So that when we leave, because we’re not going to be here forever, we have a plan in place to bring the next group of leaders up into the organization.”