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Clermont sees 9:46 90th‑percentile emergency response time; council approves on‑site fire training tower and reallocated funds
Summary
Fire officials presented 2024 response‑time data showing a 9:46 90th‑percentile call‑to‑arrival time and identified areas of coverage challenge. Council voted unanimously to designate a city property as a training facility and to reallocate $200,000 from existing appropriations to build a three‑story drill tower.
Fire Chief Azelle briefed the City Council on 2024 emergency‑response performance and coverage challenges, and council approved a measure to dedicate a city property for an on‑site training facility and to reallocate existing city funds to build a three‑story drill tower.
Chief Azelle (presentation delivered by the department) said the department's 90th‑percentile call‑to‑arrival time for all emergent incidents was 9 minutes, 46 seconds. "The ninetieth percentile overall, we were we ended up at, 9 minutes and 46 seconds for the call to arrival," he said. Azelle described a travel‑time target of four minutes for first unit arrival and identified areas — including Verde Ridge, eastern Hartwood Marsh and the Wellness Way corridor — where travel times routinely exceed the target because of distance and traffic.
Azelle and staff outlined steps under consideration to reduce response times, including agreements with neighboring departments for coverage (Mineola indicated a willingness to station a unit at its location), potential property acquisition near Wellness Way with developer Olympus, planned Station 2 renovations to add quarters for an additional unit, and coordination with county projects that will extend Ray Goodgame Parkway and improve corridors into eastern Hartwood Marsh.
After the presentation the council voted 5–0 to designate the city's Twelfth Street site as a public‑safety training facility, to allow construction of a three‑story drill tower and to reallocate $200,000 of previously appropriated funds to the project. Assistant Chief Rick Kasler and Battalion Chief Bennett described the training benefits: reduced travel time to distant training sites, more on‑site facility training hours that count toward ISO requirements, and increased opportunities for joint training with mutual‑aid partners.
Council members praised the proposal as a way to keep crews local, reduce time lost to travel, and strengthen multi‑agency coordination. Staff said the reallocation uses existing budget authority and does not require a separate budget amendment beyond council approval of the reallocation.
Why it matters: The item addresses public‑safety capacity by both identifying coverage shortfalls and committing local resources to training infrastructure intended to improve readiness and reduce out‑of‑town training travel time.
