The first of two new marine fire stations opened this week on the St. Johns River in Mandarin, in the shadow of the Buckman Bridge.

And this one is unlike others the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department has opened recently on dry land.

Instead, Marine Fire Station 68 is in a renovated home with a dock that can handle one of the department’s 30-foot-long fireboats, in an area that has needed marine and shoreline fire protection for years, Capt. Eric Prosswimmer said.

“We cover from the ocean all the way to the county line, and in the past, the nearest station was at Metropolitan Park. It takes at least 25 minutes for a boat to get from there to the Buckman Bridge,” Prosswimmer said. “So it’s been a need that was found in 2006, and they have been looking for property to be able to build that station since then. This came up and it took some creative thinking and some hard work by the City Council and the Mayor’s Office to make this happen.”

A number of fatal incidents have occurred in recent years around the Buckman Bridge, including the death in February 2021 of a 19-year-old man who fell off a fishing boat near the span, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. In October 2020, the body of 84-year-old Walter Williams was recovered after his boat capsized near the bridge. And in late February last year, a car went over the Buckman Bridge into the river after a crash, killing a 65-year-old man, fire officials said. 

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The City Council approved a $2.2 million allocation in July to buy the 3.2-acre home and dock site at 10562 Scott Mill Road, on the northeast side of the Buckman Bridge. The home was renovated to fit the four-person crews who will handle the fireboat, with no emergency vehicles on the property, fire officials said. Since an existing homesite was used, only about $3 million of the $12 million originally set aside was needed for purchase and renovation, Prosswimmer said.

“They saved quite a bit of money by doing this,” he said.

Plus, a Mandarin-based fireboat can more easily access riverfront homes and have an endless supply of water for their hoses, Prosswimmer said.

“They are all on long driveways, and any time we have had a fire there, water can be a problem getting it to a fire,” he said. “We pull the fireboat up on the river, and we can extend hoses and use the pump from the boat to actually fight fire at those houses. This puts them that much closer.”

The fire department next plans to build a new marine fire station at the Blount Island Marine Terminal to replace existing Station 48, using some money originally set aside for the Crown Point Road station in addition to a grant, Prosswimmer said.

“We are basically getting two stations for the price of one,” he said. “We started staffing a boat on the island, and they also run an engine on the island. The station is an older facility, and it’s not near the boat, so they found a place where they can put a station and have a dock, and satisfy all needs.”

The replacement for the former 3,040-square-foot Marine Fire Station 39 at Metropolitan Park is closing in on its official groundbreaking after contractors began prepping a site adjacent to WJCT Public Media’s headquarters just south of the Hart Bridge ramp. The new station will service Downtown’s riverfront when it opens later this year. That crew is currently manning fireboats out of Naval Air Station Jacksonville but will be temporarily moving to a trailer at an Arlington marina, Prosswimmer said.

The new marine stations are part of a massive slate of new fire facilities opened or under construction in recent years that includes Station 75 at Wilson Boulevard and Interstate 295, Station 65 on Bailey Body Road off Arlington Road, and the $7 million Station 63 on Gate Parkway as well as the $5.5 million Fire Station 74 at the e-Town Parkway.

The $7 million Fire Station 47 on Gold Star Family Parkway and Lannie Road on the Northside will open soon, Prosswimmer said.