JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla — The Jacksonville Beach Fire Department and Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department became one Saturday after a unanimous vote of approval by the Jacksonville City Council in September to lay the groundwork for the merger.
Just under 30 Jacksonville Beach firefighters will undergo new training as they transition into roles within JFRD.
"They'll go through some pretty extensive training through the next few weeks, safety training, and then they'll just be assigned throughout the JFRD in open and vacant positions that we have," said JFRD Acting Director/Fire Chief Keith Powers.
Powers, who will soon take the permanent role of Director/Fire Chief, said the merger was a smooth transition that finalized Saturday.
Jacksonville Beach residents will now receive fire and rescue services from JFRD, which also services the Jacksonville International Airport, Baldwin, Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach.
"My predecessors for years have been trying to get this done," Powers said. "After a lot of hard work, it's finally come together and it's going to make the citizens of the entire county ... they're going to benefit from it."
The move was a split approval by the Jacksonville Beach City Council in May before moving on to Jacksonville City Council, however supporters there hope that over time it will save Jacksonville Beach money.
The Florida Times-Union reports that Jacksonville Beach will pay $2.2 million for the first year of the 20-year deal, with that number going up by 2.5 percent or the amount of increase in the consumer price index.
The cost for the City of Jacksonville is estimated to be about $3.57 million in the first year. Jacksonville Beach Mayor Charlie Latham opposed the merger.
Powers said residents in Jacksonville Beach will now be served by two rescue units, doubling the number of units in that community.
"We're an extremely large department with a lot of resources, [Jacksonville Beach residents] will be getting those resources," Powers said.