New Florida Fire Station Offers Shelter From Future Storms
April 10—Promising quicker response times and better hurricane protection, the North Collier Fire Control and Rescue District opened the county's newest fire station Thursday.
The red-brick $3.9 million fire house on Livingston Road is just north of Royal Palm Academy and south of Bonita Springs. Twelve new firefighters will work out of the station on three shifts, and will be able to cut response times in half to some of the neighborhoods and gated-communities in the northern reach of the county, officials said.
The long-planned two-story station was designed to be strong enough to withstand a Category 4 hurricane and big enough to house the entire fire district's emergency response for several weeks during and after a hurricane.
"This will be able to keep all vital power and equipment on and stay afloat after the storm so we can have a united hub for a major emergency," said Jorge Aguilera, deputy chief for emergency medical services.
Before the station, northern Collier fire crews would have to evacuate all of their engines and equipment from the county during a Category 2 hurricane and operate rescue and cleanup efforts from about 60 miles inland.
The new station is big enough for the district to potentially rent space to a Collier County ambulance crew or a Bonita Springs fire engine if either of those agencies eventually need the space, but so far there have been no takers, Aguilera said.
By luck and planning, the fire district was able to shave a few million dollars off the station's final price tag.
Fire commissioners first bought the lot in 2000, before Livingston Road was even extended that far north and when land was much cheaper. It was clear then that there would be a need for the station now, said Christopher Lombardo, fire commissioners.
"People thought we were crazy for buying land in the middle of nowhere," Lombardo said. "We could see where growth was headed."
The district was ready to push ahead and build the station in 2007, but with a booming economy the same plans would have cost $1.5 million more, Chief Orly Stolts said. The recession hit and commissioners put the project on hold until last year.
"This has been a long journey," Stolts said.
The new station will house the district's emergency medical services administration and training for paramedics and EMTs. All that's left is for district officials to finish moving in the last of the station's furniture and equipment in the coming weeks.
