Getting fire

trucks and ambulances to Wynnmeade subdivision isn't easy now, admits

Peachtree City Acting Fire Chief Stony Lohr.

The Peachtree

City Fire and Rescue Department aims at having response times of five

minutes or less, which it is able to achieve in most of the city. Lohr

said, but to Wynnmeade it takes eight or nine minutes at the low end.

That's if traffic

isn't a factor, he added. If it is, the response time soars to as much

as 13 minutes including the time to dispatch the call and the time it

takes for the crews to get rolling, Lohr added.

Wynnmeade's

distance from the nearest fire station, at 2.7 miles, is the main factor

in slowed response, Lohr said.

"When

we have traffic, it takes even longer," he said. "We're doing

the best we can with what we've got."

And with a

nearby 399-unit apartment complex scheduled to open later this year and

another two subdivision slated for the area in the future, the demand

for fire and emergency services will only grow.

The answer

to the problem? A new fire station, Lohr said.

But the key

to a new fire station will be the road network that's built to serve the

western area of the city, Lohr noted. Ideally, it would provide a northern

route to access the property, which will be accessed by the new MacDuff

Parkway to the south once the apartments open, the chief said..

"It's

critical that we have a good road network going through there," Lohr

said. "It's important to connect all these pieces."

The only other

possible solution to shortening response times would be to station emergency

vehicles in the area during times the department historically has an increased

number of calls, Lohr added.

"The only

way to get there quicker is to shorten the distance," he said.

The city is

currently looking for a location to build the new fire station, Lohr said.

It's possible that station would also serve part of unincorporated Fayette

County, Lohr added.

With the exception

of a few locations on the south side of Peachtree City such as the Meade

soccer complex and the uncompleted Wilshire Estates subdivision, the department

is able to respond to emergencies within five minutes, Lohr said.

"We already

provide a better level of service than the other departments around us,"

Lohr said. "And we intend to keep it that way."

The department

won't, however, take unnecessary risks while responding to an emergency

either, he added. But he realizes the importance of shortening response

times "from a customer service point of view."

"I just

want somebody to be there," he said.