JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Fire Station 76 is now officially open for business in Jacksonville’s Pumpkin Hill area. Jacksonville Fire & Rescue, Mayor Donna Deegan, and other city officials cut the ribbon on the Pumpkin Hill area’s newest fire station Tuesday morning.
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Jacksonville Fire & Rescue Chief Keith Power said the new station will allow firefighters to respond a full five to seven minutes quicker to the surrounding area in times of crisis.
“The American Heart Association says that we have to restore profusion to either the heart or the brain within four or six minutes, or those cells begin to die,” Chief Powers explained. “Obviously, with this station going in, we’re gonna be able to get to people quicker.”
With the new eight-million-dollar fire station also now up and running, Chief Powers also says all residents living within five miles of the station, built off of Cedar Point Road and Boney Road, can also expect property insurance savings.
“If you live within five miles of a fire station, you get the class one rating that most of Duval County currently enjoys,” Chief Powers said Tuesday. “If you live outside of that, you’re an iso class of 10, which means you basically have zero fire protection, and it causes your rates to be extremely elevated.”
The celebration was bittersweet, marking the last fire station opening ceremony with Chief Powers as the head of Jacksonville Fire & Rescue before his retirement begins June 30th.
“I’m ready to move on to other things and do other things and let a new leader come in and start leading the department in a different direction, it’s time for some new ideas,” Chie Powers told Action News Jax. “But it’s bittersweet. I think the part I’m going to miss the most is the troops, the men and women that go out there and serve every day.”
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Now, Chief Powers says with the investments made in the department city-wide and the men left on the front lines, he couldn’t feel any better about the state of Jacksonville Fire & Rescue he’s leaving behind.
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