The City of New Port Richey held a groundbreaking ceremony on May 25, 2023 for its new Fire Station No. 2. The new 7,876 sq. ft. state-of-the-art station will be built on a 1.19-acre parcel of land located at Grand Boulevard and Marine Parkway that was donated to the City by the Kulhawik family back in 1987 and will include a hot, warm, and cold zone designed to protect firefighters from carcinogens and other products of combustion. Fire Chief Chris Fitch stated, “Cancer is currently the leading cause of death among firefighters. Now when a firefighter returns from a fire or serious medical call, they will be able to enter from the hot zone (apparatus bay area) into the warm zone area to remove contaminates, clean their clothes in decontamination washers, and put on clean uniforms before ever entering the living quarters of the station (known as the cold zone).” The new fire station will also include two (2) drive-thru bays, office space, a day room, training and exercise rooms, a bunker gear storage room, a commercial-grade kitchen, dorm style bedrooms to accommodate up to six (6) personnel, and an outdoor private patio. City Manager Debbie L. Manns stated, “The location of this property was determined to be more than relevant by way of a Needs Assessment Study in 2016 in providing fire and EMS service to the U.S. Highway 19 corridor, the downtown district and excellent east/west capabilities while retaining a four minute or less response time.”
The new fire station will replace the current Fire Station No. 2 located at 6121 High Street which was built in 1974. City Manager Manns stated, “The men and women that are trained to put everyone else’s needs before their own just deserve a new home based on existing conditions in their current facility. I think it can be said that the design features of the building in actuality mirror some of the virtues of a great firefighter because we look for strength, integrity and a positive public image when selecting firefighters to join our team.”
The building was designed by Spring Engineering and will be built by The E&L Construction Group. Construction is expected to be completed by summer 2024.