by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department plans to open a new fire station just in time to keep an eye on the pyrotechnics of the Fourth of July weekend.
The golden Fire Station No. 5 at the intersection of Riverside Avenue and Forest Street will be replaced by a red brick building located about two miles west at 2433 Forest St.
The $2.3-million station is equipped with four bays that will initially house an ambulance, fire engine and air truck. The Forest Street property the new station sits on was purchased through the City’s Community Development Block Grant Program. The grants are awarded to the City from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and can be used to improve community facilities and services.
“The station will be more centrally located within its territory,” said JFRD spokesman John Bracey. “This will allow firefighters to get to incidents within its (the station’s) territory quicker than if they were located on the edge of the territory.”
The station is scheduled to open in three to four weeks, according to Bracey, which would have the grand opening close to the Fourth of July.
An opening also means that there will be a closing, and the future of the gold-painted firehouse on Riverside Avenue has yet to be decided.
Fidelity National Financial owns the property that the current Station No. 5 sits on after the City agreed to a land swap three years ago through a City ordinance. Fidelity recently fulfilled its obligation by opening a riverfront park and providing more parking along the riverfront.
The City does have the option of moving the historic fire station off of the property. This option calls for Fidelity to contribute the amount of money it would cost to demolish the building to the City’s effort to relocate it.
City Council member Glorious Johnson introduced a bill in November that would provide for a study and recommendation of the best way to relocate the building. That bill awaits a recommendation from the City’s Recreation and Community Development Committee.
“I would like to see it preserved because of its historic value,” said Warren Jones, Council member for Dist. 9, where the fire station is located. “We just have to find out how.”