Chief Tripp says of the 25 firefighter positions she has open in the department, 15 have already been filled and she just got approval to add 18 more positions to the force.

Nearly two dozen new fire trucks and ambulances are also on order.

“The 15 rescue cars that we have on order have already been paid for,” said Chief Tripp. “We have five additional engines that have been paid for. We have two heavy duty rescue areas that’s been paid for and we have a tiller truck that’s been paid for.”

Chief Tripp hopes that a new computer aid dispatch system will help speed up response times and streamline the amount of equipment sent out on calls.

As someone who knows firsthand how speed and accuracy saved her home, Irene Furguson is all for it.

Furguson has lived in her home on Davis Island for 37 years, but back in January of last year, she was a homeowner in distress.

“I had turned my heat on and I hadn’t turned on my heat in probably 7 years,” she said. “I turned it on and smoke started billowing in the home. It was as if it was the foggiest day you could imagine. It was that much smoke. And within five minutes I had probably three or four fire trucks outside of my home and an ambulance.”

Furguson said she's lucky because her home is close to a fire station, but she realizes many of her fellow Tampa residents aren’t as fortunate.

“The situation is dire because they need upgrades in software,” she said. “Hardware and facilities which is extremely important to them being able to increase their response time.”