Two new fire stations in the works for Marion County

A rendering of the future EMS Central facility [Courtesy of Marion County].

It’s been an exciting month for Marion County Fire Rescue as it celebrated the groundbreaking for a new emergency medical services facility that officials said has been “years in the making.”

The new facility, EMS Central, will cost an estimated $8.4 million and will be an upgrade to the existing facility that was built in 1960. The project will take about 15 months to complete and will be funded by the county’s penny sales tax.

The new station, located at 1400 SW Sixth Ave. in Ocala, will be over 19,400 square feet and will include 12 vehicle bays, sleeping quarters for 21 people, four restrooms, a training room, classroom, two dayrooms and a kitchen, according to MCFR.

The station that is being replaced was formerly used as a juvenile detention facility. After being adapted for use as a fire station, it served its purpose but has reached maximum capacity to house EMS crews.

“It is an old building with several challenges and was never designed or intended for this use,” according to MCFR. “The new building will allow MCFR to continue to provide EMS services to the city of Ocala, surrounding county areas and the two main hospitals in the area.”

Building a new facility will also allow the fire department to expand and have a facility that can grow with it.

This location is not the only one to see future improvements, however. Marion County has entered an agreement with a contractor to build a fire station in Citra that will cost $4.6 million to complete.

Charles Perry Partners Inc., a Gainesville contracting firm, was approved for a bid to start work on Sept. 25 and complete the project by April 30, 2024.

The new station will be built to replace the existing station, located at Northeast 180th Lane and U.S. 301 S, Citra. The station will have three bays in a 4,386 square-foot apparatus bay to store vehicles and equipment, in addition to 3,737 square feet of living quarters, according to Marion County Procurement Services.

This project will also be funded by the penny sales tax, which primarily funds infrastructure and public safety. The Marion County Board of County Commissioners approved the task order for Charles Perry Partners Inc. on Sept. 6.

Part of the cost of the project includes paying for the demolition of the old fire station once construction of the new one is completed, said Marion County Fire Rescue spokesperson James Lucas.

“It’s not a modern fire station,” Lucas said. “We need to have the ability to expand. In this case, it’s putting up a rescue in the Citra area.”

No groundbreaking has yet been scheduled for the new fire station, but MCFR will still operate out of the existing station, Lucas said.

“We won’t abandon that facility until the new station is open,’’ he said. “We don’t want to redistribute crews and leave an area uncovered, so they’ll still continue to operate as they do today until the new facility is built.”

Having a new station in Citra has been a goal for many years, originally established in the capital improvement plan. Lucas said that the Citra Improvement Society donated the land for the new station.

The station will also include a “Safe Haven Baby Box,” so that anyone who wishes to surrender a baby up to seven days after birth can do so to ensure the child’s safety without repercussions.