Fire crews anticipate they will have a faster response time thanks to the addition of a permanent fire station on Jacksonville's southside.
The station will be located at 6530 Gate Parkway across from the FBI building.
“Four to six minutes is what the American Heart Association says we need to be providing oxygen to those people if they’ve gone to full cardiac arrest,' said Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department's interim fire chief Keith Powers. "The times that we’re coming from 95, we weren’t able to meet that standard."
The city and department have reached a purchase agreement to build what will become Fire Station 63.
There is a temporary location, which has already proved beneficial. Crews were able to respond to Village Walk Apartments, located at 7651 Gate Parkway, in three minutes for a September fire a few weeks after it opened. A quick enough response helped crews contain the fire to a closet.
Given the complex’s wood frame construction, Powers said entire buildings could’ve been lost if they had to wait 10 to 12 minutes for crews to respond from Fire Station 44 off Baymeadows.
“On the fireside and EMS side, minutes equal lives," Powers aid. "When we have a fire station that’s within five road miles of your residence it increases the survival chances should you have a fire."
The new station will not just help safety, but insurance rates. Close to 30 apartment complexes, 153 businesses and 3,800 homeowners will see a reduced rate now with a fire station closer to them.
“This is just more of the commitment from the mayor’s office on making sure that every area of Duval county is covered," Powers said.
This project is still in the permit phase. The $7-million dollar construction cost was approved in the last budget cycle and the fire department hopes to have the station open in the next six to eight months.