JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville officials opened Fire Station 48 during an Aug. 19 ribbon-cutting ceremony immediately outside Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island’s main gate, expanding emergency response for the installation, the Jacksonville Port Authority’s Blount Island Marine Terminal and nearby communities along Heckscher Drive.
The new 9,500-square-foot station replaces a decades-old, 1,700-square-foot firehouse and expands apparatus capacity from one vehicle to as many as three. Its location outside JAXPORT’s perimeter gives Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department crews faster access to the Marine installation and nearby neighborhoods while maintaining full access to port operations on Blount Island.
U.S. Marine Corps Col. David Merles, commanding officer of Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island, joined city officials and fire department leaders for the ceremony as the new station entered service.
“Fire Station 48 strengthens a partnership we rely on every day,” Merles said. “The station demonstrates the value of strong military installations and defense communities working together to improve our collective emergency response capability. Jacksonville’s support helps protect the workforce and infrastructure that enable our mission and, ultimately, the Marines we support worldwide.”
The project was funded in part through the Defense Community Infrastructure Program. Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island endorsed the project in June 2023, citing its potential to improve mission resilience by placing modernized all-hazards emergency response capability near the installation.
JFRD provides all-hazards emergency response to Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island through mutual aid agreements. The partnership also includes joint planning, exercises and training to improve coordinated response.
Fire Chief Percy Golden II, director of JFRD, said the former station’s location inside JAXPORT’s security perimeter created a practical challenge for emergency responders.
“Every second matters in an emergency, and the process of moving through the gates at Blount Island could cost precious time,” Golden said. “So we worked together and made the decision to move the station outside the gates.”
Golden said the new location preserves full emergency access to Blount Island while improving response to the Heckscher Drive corridor.
Station 48’s mission grew with Jacksonville and its maritime economy. When it opened in 1978, the city had just over 550,000 residents and the firehouse housed a single engine. A tanker and 39-foot fireboat were later added as demand increased. The new facility maintains water-response capability through a nearby dock immediately off the island.
“Jacksonville’s maritime industry has become one of our most valuable economic assets,” Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said during opening remarks inside the station’s freshly painted apparatus bay. “As it expands, so must our ability to protect it.”
Deegan said federal funding covered half the project, allowing the city to expand public safety infrastructure serving Jacksonville’s maritime industry and surrounding communities.
“This new facility is the result of a strong three-way partnership,” she said, referring to the city of Jacksonville, JAXPORT and federal defense partners.
The ceremony included remarks from Deegan, Golden and Jacksonville City Council member Mike Gay. Afterward, officials cut a red ribbon outside, raised the station’s first flag and helped push the first engine into the bay.