ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — New fire stations are in the works for Horizon West. It’s an area of west Orange County where development is booming. 

To keep up with the growth, the area’s newest fire station is set to open in the next few months.

It’s always busy at Orange County Fire Rescue station 44. Division Chief Kimberly Buffkin checks in. She started with the department 20 years ago and knows what it’s like to head out on life-saving calls. 

But now she serves as the Division Chief of Planning and Technical Services, which involves planning future stations. 

“I enjoy being a part of that growth with the community,” Buffkin said. 

Orange County estimates that the overall Horizon West special planning area has reached 68% build-out, meaning a lot more growth is still on the way.

Buffkin says officials had to account for it, too. 

“Several years ago, we noticed the growth in the Horizon West area and we realized we couldn’t wait for the planned station 44 to be built, so we moved into this temporary station here to provide fire service to this area,” Buffkin said.

Since opening up, they’ve seen their call volume grow with the area. In 2019, station 44 responded to just over 1,000 calls and in 2021, responded to over 1,500, which is about a 50% increase. Last year, calls climbed to nearly 2,000.

“Every time you come here is new subdivisions coming up, there are new retail and commercial businesses being built as well, we are definitely seeing growth out here,” Buffkin said.

To keep up, in about 45 days, Station 44 will move into a new home and this station will become Station 48, bringing even more first responders into the area. 

“We are happy to be able to be open a second station, a permanent 44, a new 48 to better serve the community,” she said.

Nearby on Reams Road, Buffkin is ecstatic to check in on the future home of Station 44.

“It is exciting. It almost finished,” Buffkin said, as she walked up to the new station. 

While 44 is almost finished, she’s already looking towards the future again, planning for station 49, which could come to the area in a few years. 

“The growth that we are seeing out here, it is comforting to know we will have another station serving the community,” Buffkin said. 

Buffkin shared that OCFR is actually doing a study to make sure it's keeping up with the projected growth. That study will help the department develop even more plans for the future.