New rescue for OFR

[Courtesy of Ocala Fire Rescue]

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Posted April 12, 2024 | By Caroline Brauchler
caroline@ocalagazette.com

Ocala Fire Rescue inaugurated a brand-new fire rescue on Friday for Station 6 to serve the growing southwest Ocala area.

Station 6, at 5220 SW 50^th Ct., services the State Road 200 corridor and Interstate 75, including areas through the Fore Ranch community and West Port High School, said OFR spokesperson Ashley Lopez.

“Starting Monday, April 15, Rescue 6 will be operational and ready to respond to emergencies, bolstering OFR’s capacity to provide emergency services in a region experiencing rapid growth,” according to an OFR press release.

The station welcomed the new rescue with an inauguration “push-in ceremony,” attended by a number of city officials, including Mayor Ben Marciano, City Manager Pete Lee, Councilmember Jim Hilty and Fire Chief Clint Wellborn.

A fire station’s need for additional apparatus is determined by type and volume of calls experienced in an area, Lopez said.

“In the case of Station 6, the projected increase in population resulting from new single and multi-family dwellings, as well as commercial structures, played a factor in the addition of a rescue,” Lopez said.

The cost for the new rescue was not yet given by OFR, but Lopez said that it was accounted for in the city’s regular budget for expenses such as these.

“The addition of Rescue 6 will further facilitate our delivery of rapid, life-saving interventions throughout Ocala,” said Wellborn in the press release.