Ocala breaks ground for new fire station

City officials and Ocala Fire Department officials at the groundbreaking ceremony on Feb. 19. [Submitted photo]

Ocala Fire Rescue hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Feb. 19 for the agency’s eighth fire station. 

OFR, city officials and guests gathered at the construction site for Fire Station 8, which will be located at 2300 NW 44th Terrace, within sight of Interstate 75 and just off U.S. Highway 27.

The new facility, expected to be completed by late 2026, is “designed to enhance emergency response in Ocala’s growing northwest corridor,” according to an OFR press release.

OFR Chief Clint Welborn said the new station is an investment in the growth of the city.

“We’re not just building a fire station; we’re building a stronger, safer Ocala for generations to come,” Welborn said in the release.  

The new station will have three apparatus bays, an engine and rescue unit and involve 15 personnel. 

The strategic location was chosen “for its accessibility to I-75 via US 27 and SR 40 via Northwest 44th Avenue, ensuring faster response times for residents and businesses in the area,” the release noted.

The next closest OFR station is Fire Station 1 and First Responder Campus on Northwest Martin Luther King Jr.  Avenue at Northwest 5th Street, which opened in 2020, according to OFR Public Information Officer Ashley Lopez.

Fire Station 8 is immediately adjacent to Foxwoods Farms and near the Ocala Palms community, although both are outside the new station’s service area.

“Foxwood Farms and Ocala Palms are both outside of our jurisdiction. However, they are part of our response area under mutual aid with Marion County Fire Rescue. Given the proximity of Station #8’s site to these communities, response times are expected to be significantly reduced,” Lopez wrote in an email. 

On the north side of U.S. Highway 27 across from Fire Station 8 is a large shopping complex.

City Council records indicate $4,635,282 was approved on March 18, 2025, for local contractor Dinkins Construction to design and build the structure.  

City Council President Ire Bethea said the new fire station provides protection and response, which is a “responsibility” with thriving growth in the community.   

“As Ocala expands, emergency services must grow with it,” City Manager Pete Lee said in the press release. “Seconds matter.”