ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla — Four new fire stations to be built in five years, that’s a tall order. But, it’s what the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners recently approved.
The new stations will be located in the Flagler Estates area in the southern part of the county, in the SilverLeaf region, the Beachwalk/Twin Creeks area, and in the Longleaf Pine/Roberts Road area.
A new training facility will also be built.
St. Johns County Fire Rescue Chief Sean McGee attributes the county’s rapid growth to the demand for more fire stations.
"Our call volumes jump up every year significantly," McGee told First Coast News.
According to the United States Census Bureau, St. Johns County’s population in 2010 was 190,000, and by 2023, it was more than 320,000… about a 70 percent increase in 13 years.
And of course, there's more to the process when it comes to building new fire stations. There is a need to staff them with more paramedics and firefighters.
"The plan, I believe called for 105 firefighters over that time period," said McGee. "So, we’re going to look at like probably 35-40 hires a year with new firefighter positions to meet that demand."
A bond of about $44 million using impact fees and $26 million from the state will help build the new buildings. The county also plans to renovate existing fire stations.
"That's because a lot of our current stations are converted volunteer stations," McGee said.
The county used volunteer firefighters as recently as 1998… 25 years ago when McGee was hired as one of the county’s first paid firefighter. And there were only two stations with a paid staff in the county back then. With this plan, there will be 23 stations - a growing plan for a growing county.
"We’ve come a long way in a short amount of time," McGee said.