PARRISH, Fla. — For decades, the community of Parrish has only had one fire station.
"If little Johnny drowns in the pool, we have to get there as quick as we can to do life-saving measures," said Stacey Bailey, the Parrish Fire Chief.
But getting there fast could be a problem. Right now, the booming community’s only fire station covers nearly 100 square miles, sometimes taking firefighters 20 to 40 minutes to respond to a call.
That’s why on Election Day, the people of Parrish voted to pay $80 more a year to help build a new fire station with six new firefighters, cutting response times in half.
"We’re thankful we’re going to be able to start coloring in those gaps and doing good things for the community," said Bailey.
The tax is expected to help build more fire stations in the future and will go into effect next October.
