JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department officially opened Station 68 on the east bank of the St. Johns River.
The new marine station will serve the south end of the river.
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Mayor Deegan said the new station will save lives.
“For a long time, we have lacked marine coverage on the south side. The current response time from the closest full-time staff marine unit in Metro Park is at least 25 minutes to the Mandarin and Buckman Bridge area. Marine 68 will drastically cut down the time to mere minutes. As we saw in Baltimore this week, having rescue capabilities near a bridge is paramount,” Deegan said.
JFRD Chief Keith Powers said they have been working on getting a fire station in that area for a while.
“We have been working on getting a fire station in the southern of the St. Johns River in Duval county since about 2006. Through some hard work of the mayor’s office and the city council, we were able to find this property and get the funding that we needed to get it purchased and get this lifesaving boat down here so it can help serve the citizens that need it most,”
Station 68 will be the fifth marine fire station in Jacksonville.