Zephyrhills drying out after storm

A fire station across the street from City Hall sustains the most damage, authorities say.

By HELEN ANNE TRAVIS, Times Staff Writer
Published January 24, 2008

Public Works Department employees Gregg Bricker, left, and Joe Osteen pump out the basement of City Hall after flooding from Tuesday night's rain.
	[Mike Pease | Times]

ZEPHYRHILLS - The sign on City Hall says "Zephyrhills, City of Pure Water."

But the brown mud standing in the basement was anything but.

Heavy rains passed over Pasco County on Tuesday night, dumping enough water to flood Zephyrhills' streets, yards and buildings, including City Hall.

A Zephyrhills Fire Rescue Station took the brunt of the damage. The building stands in a low-lying area across the street from City Hall. Usually, officials can protect the area with sandbags during a heavy storm, but Tuesday night's rain caught everyone off guard.

"With hurricanes, we can prepare," said fire Capt. Ralph Velez.

A crew answered a call early Wednesday morning and came back to find a few inches of water in the building's bays and rooms, he said. The firefighters evacuated the building and worked the rest of the night from their trucks and the city's other fire station, about 2 miles away.

"Other than the inconvenience, it's still business as usual," Velez said.

Furniture, computers and some files were destroyed in the flood, but the city's firefighting equipment remained intact.

At City Hall, the basement flooded and a few light bulbs and air filters were damaged, City Manager Steven Spina said.

The building, which he estimates to be more than 50 years old, has flooded in the past, and the electric and other utilities have since been raised off the floor.

Companies came in to clean the basement and fire station with blowers, pumps and dehumidifiers.

Wednesday, the fire station's carpet was still soggy and dirt caked the tiles.

But in the back bay, a red 1920s fire truck with wooden tire spokes and a brass grill was unaffected by the few inches of water that had stood for about four hours in the station.

Velez said he worked with a team of local high school students to restore the engine. He was calm about the damage to his office, but he said it would break his heart to see the fire truck destroyed.

"I would have been sick," he said.

Firefighters don't know how long the cleanup will take nor do they have any estimate on the damage to the building.

Helen Anne Travis can be reached at htravis@sptimes.com or 352 281-3982.

[Last modified January 23, 2008, 22:39:38]