Jacksonville’s newest fire station was officially opened Wednesday morning on Firestone Road, designed to help speed up response to Westside communities as it relieves the overload on firefighters at busy nearby stations.

As Station 75 was opened off Interstate 295, some of those responsible for it said their farewells before the ribbon cutting, including Mayor Lenny Curry and Chief Administrative Officer Brian Hughes. That administration will end its eight-year run on Friday.

Called a “pocket station,” the new $6.5 million facility at 2630 Firestone Road will not only serve a very busy community, but help three overloaded stations that sometimes run nonstop, Fire Chief Keith Powers said.

“What we have, because of the exceptional growth in this city, are areas of town, this being one of them, that we need what we call pocket stations,” Powers said. “That’s because the run volume is so high in this area that the surrounding stations and the station that normally serves here can’t keep up with the number of runs.”

That makes this an important station for the community, said outgoing City Councilwoman Brenda Priestly Jackson, who represents the communities served by the facility.

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“Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor and Chief Powers, for putting the needs of our neighbor first,” she said. “So often we hear that certain areas are left behind, but I can say that over the last four years, that’s not the case. We prioritized what was needed, where it was needed. This facility is sorely needed for our neighbors, and they can now have, real time, the resources available to them.”

Station 75 has six firefighters per shift, operating a critical care rescue unit and a fire engine from its 9,000-square-foot facility just north of Wilson Boulevard. Along with handling the busy Sweetwater area of Northwest Jacksonville, Station 75 will help three other stations 1 to 3 miles away on either side of I-295.

Those stations, which also have handled runs in Station 75’s region, averaged more than 2,600 callouts each in 2022, Powers said. But that is an average — the three stations each did many more. Station 22 on Jammes Road handled 5,301 runs last year, Powers said. Station 31 on Hillman Drive handled 6,745 runs last year, while Station 32 on Lenox Avenue had 3,883 runs in 2022, Powers said.

“That is why this pocket station is so important,” Powers said. “On an EMS side, four to six minutes is that magic number that we need to be there. And when we are out running those massive numbers and leaving that vacuum I am talking about, that leaves people waiting for service and we can’t have that.”

The new advanced Critical Care Rescue Units were unveiled in October, funded from Jacksonville’s 2023 budget. Along with the usual advanced life-saving equipment, the department’s two new rescue units also carry high-level critical care medications like blood clot stabilizers and drugs to lower rapid heart rates. They also mark the first time that blood and plasma for transfusions have been carried by paramedics trained to handle them as well as a ventilator, IV pump and other life-saving gear at a trauma scene or en route to a hospital. That makes them “an ER on wheels,” Powers said.

In one of his last public appearances as mayor before his term expires, Curry told the audience that he is proud of the work his administration did for the city’s fire department, which he called “the best in the business.”

“It’s been eight years, and it’s been one hell of a ride,” he said. “The fire stations we have added, the rescue units, secured the pensions you were promised and dealt with wages — we did it together and you will always hold a place in my heart.”

Station 75 is one of a number of new fire stations built or under construction.

Ground was just broken on a 2-acre lot on Lenox Avenue, just east of the Cedar River for the second generation of Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Station 22, replacing the current 57-year-old site just under 2 miles away on Jammes Road. The $6.5 million station, staffed with six firefighters, an engine and a rescue unit, should open in eight months.

In late January, ground was broken for a station on Harts Road north of Dunn Avenue area, on the site of a former bank, the ninth fire station started by the city in the past two years.

Ground was broken in early April for Fire Station 47 next to the Jacksonville Youth Academy and police firing range and across from the Jacksonville National Cemetery near Lannie Road. The $7 million station will have a fire engine, rescue unit and 2,500-gallon water tanker when it opens in a few months.

Other recent station openings include the 7.5 million Station 65 in late March 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.

Another groundbreaking is expected soon for Station 76 on the city’s Northeast side near Black Hammock Island, fire officials said. And the City Council has a bill to appropriate $2.2 million to buy 3.2 acres of land on Mandarin’s Scott Mill Road for Marine Station 68.