FL Fire Department Remodels One Station, Rebuilds Another

Florida firefighters will be moving into temporary facilities at the end of the month while they wait for a new, updated station to be built.

The Longboat Key Fire Department is replacing Station 92, which was built in 1986, the Longboat Key Observer reports. Although no demolition date has been set for the old station, firefighters are expected to be in temporary, four-bedroom accommodations on the existing site until April 2021.

“The [existing] firehouse itself was not built for today’s standards, and what I mean by that is there [are] no female facilities there,” Fire Chief Paul Dezzi told the Observer. “It's not gender-specific. Firefighters all sleep in one room, whether you're male or female.”

Gender-specific bathrooms and sleeping areas will be part of the nearly $5 million station. The firehouse also will be built to withstand 160 mph winds and incorporate improved exhaust systems and decontamination areas.

The temporary station will be staffed with a maximum of five firefighters, and the department's vehicles will be parked outside. Response times is not expected to increase during the construction, but the department will have to find different ways for firefighters to train at the temporary firehouse. 

"Any time you're in a temporary facility, you do have some constraints to it," Dezzi told the Observer.

While a new Station 92 is being constructed, the department's other firehouse, Station 91, will be receiving a facelift. Built in 1996, that facility will receive new alarm and radio systems, as well as a back-up generator.