Palm Beach Gardens unveiled a new, $2.6 million fire station on Campus Drive Thursday morning.
Firefighters at Station #2 serve the businesses and residents on PGA Boulevard, answering about 2,300 calls each year. The new station next to the old one is Category 5 hurricane-rated. The station is better suited for a crew that includes both men and women because it offers more privacy. The old station across from Palm Beach State College was built in 1987. It will be leveled and become a green space with a retention area, Fire Chief Michael Southard said.
The city has offered Habitat for Humanity whatever appliances and furnishings it can use from the station before it’s demolished.
Southard expects the firefighters to move into the new station within three weeks. There will be no interruption in service. Mayor Eric Jablin said the station is able to hold more equipment to keep up with growth in Palm Beach Gardens. The station with three bays will have a fire engine and a rescue truck. Southard said the third bay can be used by Seacoast Utility Authority or Florida Power & Light during a storm so they can all respond at the same time. After the formal program, fire chiefs gave tours of the new station outfitted with a spacious kitchen, a gym that can accommodate CrossFit strength and conditioning programs and a screened-in porch. There will eventually be a jogging trail with exercise equipment and strategic stations around the firehouse. Firefighters and paramedics are required by policy to work out at least 30 minutes each day, Southard said.