A new fire station opened near the Cecil Airport Friday.
Originally, Fire Station 56 was the only one in the area causing response times up to 11 minutes. Since Fire Station 73 opened this morning response times have decreased.
Interim Jacksonville Fire Chief Keith Powers said, "Starting this morning at 9 o’clock, time dropped down to 4 and a half minute response times. That’s extremely important when you’re talking about minute’s equaling lives. So, that makes a huge difference in the lives of the people that live and work in that area."
Cutting down on response time isn’t the only change coming with the arrival of Fire Station 73. The station is expected to lead to reduced insurance rates for residents.
Powers said that about 3,200 homes and 76 businesses fell under ISO 10 ratings, which is the highest someone can receive. Since the opening of the station those homes and businesses now have ISO ratings of 1, the lowest rating a resident can get.
ISO stands for Insurance Services Office, which is an analytics company that provides information about property/casualty insurance risk, which in turn affects the rates consumers pay.
Fire Station 73 will also house a backup 911 call center in case of an emergency at the county’s main dispatch.
Former Fire Chief and current Councilman Randy White said the backup dispatch is important for any emergency. “Without power, without a communication system, you are dead in the water, so to speak, for police and fire.”
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department has been expanding.
Fire Station 61 broke ground Tuesday on Old Middleburg Road in Oakleaf and should open within 300 days. Another fire station is also under construction on the city's Southside.
“There is a lot of growth in the city and as a result the fire department has to stay up with that growth to provide the service to the people that live and work here,” Powers said.
Madison Roberts can be reached at newsteam@wjct.org or (904)358-6317.
