A fast-growing local area is getting a new fire station.
Local officials gathered this morning to break ground in Jacksonville’s Bartram Springs neighborhood.
The area, in Southeast Jacksonville near the border with St. Johns County, has been in need of a fire station for several years.
The $2.4 million project is expected to be completed by early next year.
Fire Chief Marty Senterfitt says the station will address what has been a weakness in emergency coverage.
He says response time in the area can now run as long as 18 minutes. The new station will cut that down to less than five.
Senterfitt says another benefit of the new firehouse will be homeowners insurance savings for area homeowners.
He says many homeowners saw property insurance increases of up to $2,000 a year when the area’s fire protection rating was decreased by ISO, a national insurance rating firm.
Senterfitt says the new firehouse will solve that problem.
