(WSVN) - The busiest fire station in the country is not in New York City or Los Angeles. It is right here in Fort Lauderdale. 7’s Nicole Linsalata has more on why station two is the busiest rescue in the 954.
These men and women are first responders from Fire House #2 in the heart of Fort Lauderdale. Every day, it’s a race against time.
Call after call…
Mike Salzano, Fort Lauderdale Battalion Chief: “You have to be strong to survive here, ’cause you know when you come to work for 24 hours, you are going to be running nonstop.”
7News ran nonstop with Chief Salzano and the fire and rescue crews for two days. It didn’t take long for the first call to come in.
This emergency involves an elderly couple — rear-ended in an accident.
Mike Salzano: “Everybody’s safe, no injuries, everybody was checked out and we’re clearing the scene.”
But before they can make it back to the station, another emergency occurred involving an infant.
Mike Salzano: “We had a patient here who was possibly intoxicated and had a 4-day-old baby with her.”
You can see the worry on their faces as they try to find someone to care for the baby.
Mike Salzano: “We’ve got a family member en route, and now we’re gonna take the mom to the hospital.”
Almost anything can happen on any day.
Salim, involved in an accident: “I don’t even remember because I was so pumped up from the accident.”
But these men and women are ready to respond to any emergency in their district, which includes Las Olas, Downtown Fort Lauderdale, I-95 and several residential neighborhoods. They also serve as backup for all other districts in Fort Lauderdale.
They respond to more than 33,000 calls a year. And that makes them the busiest station in the country.
But no matter how busy they are, these first responders are thankful for the small miracles they see every day.
Mike Salzano: “Minor injuries, thank God. She has a little injury to her face and to her leg.”
A 4-year-old girl walks away after being hit by a car.
And back at the station, there’s more good news. In January they will get four more firefighter paramedics to staff a fourth full-time rescue truck.
Mike Salzano: “It’ll slow hopefully, the engine companies down a little bit, so they can be ready for the fire calls, the accidents, the alarms.”
But because they have a passion for saving lives, the crews from Fire House #2 vow they will keep running full throttle, rescue after rescue in the 954.
Mike Salzano: “You just gotta have a will to do this job, do it great and wanna serve the public.”
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