New Iowa City fire station cutting response times

IOWA CITY - A recently completed fire station in Iowa City has drastically cut down on response times to the northeast side of town. Fire station No. 4 opened in October along North Dubuque Road near Dodge Street.

“We have a goal of getting our first unit on the scene in six minutes or less, 90 percent of the time,” Iowa City Fire Chief Andy Rocca said.

Firefighters at the new facility have an average response time of four minutes or less, he said, so the station “is having a dramatic and very positive impact on our ability to provide fire protection services to the community.”

Station No. 4 is less than a mile from the Dodge Street entrance ramp to Interstate 80, making it a valuable resource for thousands of drivers, Rocca said.

Station No. 4 is expected to handle about 10 percent of all fire calls. According to data from all of 2011, the station responded to roughly 90 of 6,400 calls in its three months of operation. Rocca said he expects crews there to handle about one call per day.

“I've never heard it,” said Kelly Larson, who lives near the new facility. “It certainly doesn't wake me up in my sleep, which is what we were kind of worried about.”

The fire station is expected to play a role in promoting development in the area.