After Delays, Station Renovations Near End for FL Firefighters

After a topsy-turvy timeline that has spanned across multiple years and included a natural disaster and a global pandemic, renovations to a Florida fire station are finally nearing completion. 

The Blountstown Fire Department had received a grant from the state's fire marshal office to expand its firehouse more than two years ago, WMBB-TV reports. Plans included security improvements and creating more space for the department's apparatus and other equipment could be stored inside. 

“What we’re basically doing is doubling the size of our fire station,” Fire Chief Ben Hall told WMBB. “We’re very limited even on what kind of trucks we can have. Because the doors, if our trucks were even six inches longer, we couldn’t shut the door.”

The department's original schedule was thrown for a loop, however, thanks to Hurricane Michael in 2018. From that point on, other outside factors continued to delay construction, with the latest caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing involved with that.

But the current stage of the project has work being done on the station's frame, and Hall said he believes construction to be finished ahead of time. Initially, firefighters were expected to be in their improved firehouse by August, but work is projected to be finished before then, something Hall considers a major morale boost for firefighters.

"Our guys are getting to be part of an exciting time here at Blountstown Fire Department," he told WMBB. "It’s not every day you get to build a new station. It means so much to our guys, being invested in this and having something. You know, it’s just like when you get a new house. You’re proud of your place to call home. We’re really proud of this.”