The city of Biddeford is looking into adding a new fire station.
Biddeford’s fire chief, Scott Gagne, said that as the city grows, so does the number of calls, which have gone up by about 35 percent over the past five years.
Gagne said response times to the coast are between 10 to 12 minutes but can take as long as 14 minutes.
An ad hoc committee will now offer suggestions for a new fire station, such as the location and design of the facility, according to Mayor Alan Casavant
He said it’s important to educate the community about how long it is taking for crews to respond and the need for a new station.
“When you have a loved one that is having an issue, you want to get there in three, four or five minutes,” Casavant said. “So I think that by speaking from a scientific point of view, and a data driven point of view, more and more people will understand yeah, it’s about time.”
The City Council will need to approve the recommendation.