Permanent fire station coming to Jacksonville’s Cedar Point

In nine month’s time, a trailer that Jacksonville firefighters call home just west of the Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park will be history.

In its place — and across Cedar Point Road from one of many new subdivisions that have sprouted on Jacksonville’s Northeast side — will be the permanent Fire Station 76.

Standing next to a bulldozer early Tuesday as a wet wind whipped around him, District 2 City Council member Mike Gay thanked the city for supporting the growing community near Black Hammock Island.

“It’s been a long drought out here as far as public service, and our community is so thankful to see that the city is recognizing what we need out here,” Gay said. “There’s a lot more, but this is the first step; it’s the right step, and I appreciate every effort that went into this.”

Fire Chief Keith Powers said the new station will benefit a neighborhood with a previous ISO insurance rating of Class 10 (the lowest) because of the distance to fire stations.

“When this temporary station that you see next door opened up, it started reducing the casualty insurance for the property owners in this area. And it will continue to do so, as new properties are built because they now live within 5 road miles of a fire station,” Powers said. “…This area of Duval County is now going to reap the benefit of having this new fire station when it opens.”

Prior to the temporary fire station on Cedar Point Road, Powers said, there was “a pretty large gap” in fire coverage for anyone living there between Station 45 eight miles away on Sawpit Road and Station 49 six miles away on Yellow Bluff Road.

Station 76 is the latest in a series of fire stations opened or under construction in the city in recent years, including the just-opened Station 22 on Lenox Avenue and Station 47 in the Pecan Park area of far North Jacksonville. Construction is also underway Downtown at Station 39/Marine 35 off Gator Bowl Boulevard to replace the Metropolitan Park marine fire station.

The City Council also is reviewing a budget request to transfer $1.085 million in residual funds left over from several other completed fire station projects to help pay the $7.7 million price tag for construction of temporary Station 76 on Cedar Point Road, near Boney Road.

Powers said that new station should open late this summer.

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