ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- Two fire stations -- located in one of the busiest parts of St. Augustine -- are about to merge to become one big fire station.
St. Johns County is doing it to save money and to replace buildings in disrepair.
Fire Station 5 in the St. Augustine South neighborhood is especially in poor shape, according to St. Johns County Fire Chief Carl Shank. The building is on the older side, dating back to the 80s. One of the main concerns is the metal support beams that are rusting. Shank said two engineering reports have shown Station 5 needs to be replaced.
Station 5 in the St. Augustine South area and Station 11 in the St. Augustine Shores neighborhood were both built to serve as volunteer fire stations.
But the population has boomed over the decades. Now, both stations are fully staffed and showing problems such mold, rot, and so much rust that the visible support beams needed to be bolted down to the floor recently in station 5, according to Shank.
Referring to both stations, "I would not even occupy them during a tropical storm," Shank noted.
Instead of paying to build two new stations, St. Johns County will build one big, up-to-date fire station.
"So we should be saving $1.4 million by going into one station," Shank said.
The St. Johns County commission this week approved funding for about $850,000 to buy two parcels of land on U-S 1 near Old Moultrie Road, which is about half way between the two current stations.
The fire chief says response time for the general area should not change.
"Response times will still be eight minutes or less," Shank said.
Tom Tucker lives about half a mile from Station 11 in the St. Augustine Shores neighborhood. His family members has needed the near-by ambulance service in the past.
"My mother-in-law and my father-in-law have used it. It's a great service," Tucker recalled.
Tucker knows his neighbors may not want their close-by fire station to move. "There's a lot of older people in the neighborhood. I'm sure they'd like it closer."
But he says he'll be just fine.
"It's still pretty close. Three miles away, that's sill close to me," Tucker nodded.
Chief Shank expects the new station will be up and running by late 2015 or early 2016.
