Commissioners break ground on new fire station
North Fort Myers Fire District Commissioners broke ground last week on a new station – Station 1- located at 71 Brooks Road.
The new building will have two major benefits. It is being built to withstand Category 5 hurricanes and will house the Emergency Operations Center for the district all under one roof.
“It makes me proud to give the people of North Fort Myers the quality of station they deserve,” said Fire Commissioner Robert Hoke.
It has already been an extremely busy season for fires in the North Fort Myers area with the dry season, and the district has been providing mutual aid to other fire districts in Lee, Hendry and Charlotte counties. There is also the upcoming hurricane season, so many officials are pleased to know the new station is in the works.
The station will be off U.S. 41 North, not far from where Station 1 is now, and construction is expected to be completed in about 13 months or less.
North Fort Myers Fire Marshall Rick Jones and his team will be housed there with the rest of the key players of the Emergency Operations Center.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s an overall enhancement,” he said. “If there are issues at times when it’s not just me making a decision, but include the chiefs as well, we’ll all be in one office area. We can more quickly address issues such as details with new construction or existing issues with buildings or complaints and fire safety. It will be a lot easier to get everyone together to discuss issues and give more timely solutions.”
Overall, communications will improve throughout the district, he said.
History and timeline
North Fort Myers Fire Chief Terry Pye shared some history and information about the new station.
“In 1998, the North Fort Myers Fire District Board of Commissioners deemed it necessary to create a building fund within their yearly budget. Since that time the district has earmarked over $600,000 for the building of a new fire station.
“In 2004, the district and Habitat for Humanity entered into discussions about doing a land swap for the new station. Habitat had a parcel of land with Business 41 frontage that met the needs of the Fire District. At first the district looked at rebuilding on the Willis Road site, but soon realized it would not meet the needs of a growing fire district.”
He said that during this same time it was brought to the district’s attention that the land in which Station 1 was built was owned by SunTrust Bank. With the assistance of Michael Durkin at SunTrust Bank, they made it possible for the fire district and Habitat to complete their land deal.
“The fire district had been feeling the effects of a growing district for years,” he continued. There was no room to house all of the administrative and prevention staff under one roof, and then there was Hurricane Charley and Hurricane Wilma. Both storms caused considerable stress to Station 1. The district knew that they needed a safer building to take cover during storms.
In 2005, the district hired Bean, Whitaker, Lutz & Kareh to see if Habitat’s parcel would comply with the needs of the Fire District. The district was pleased to hear that the parcel was suitable for a new station. The district then hired Christopher J. Lee Architects Inc. to design the new station.
In 2006, the district acquired the services of Lodge Construction to be the construction manager for the new station. During the next couple of years there were many changes, including downgrading from a two-story building to a single-story building, changing the square footage from 24,000 square feet to 19,900 square feet.
“At the present time, the cost of the station will be $3,120,000,” he noted. “Originally the cost was over $6 million. The district will borrow $2 million for 15 years and put $1,120,000 as a down payment.”