The Palm Coast Fire Department is excited to have formally broken ground on future Fire Station 26 at 72 Airport Commerce Center Way. Mayor David Alfin and the Palm Coast City Council joined the fire department for the ceremony on Thursday.
The groundbreaking of Fire Station 26 represents a key milestone for Palm Coast, as it will be the first fire station constructed in nearly two decades and the first dedicated solely to the Seminole Woods and Quail Hollow areas. The station will serve approximately 7,010 households and handle an estimated 2,900 calls for service annually. Since June 2023, the fire department has been providing primary fire protection to these neighborhoods, operating temporarily out of Flagler County Fire Station 92 on Airport Road.
Currently, response times from the airport range between 7 to 15 minutes, depending on the call’s location, with longer times for calls more resounding into Seminole Woods. With the addition of Fire Station 26, response times will drop significantly to six minutes or less for over 90% of the area, offering a much faster emergency response. Additionally, residents will benefit from a reduction in their fire insurance ratings, with the area’s rating expected to improve from 3/3x to 2.0, matching Palm Coast’s overall 2.0 ISO rating.
Wharton & Schultz has been selected to lead the construction of the 10,000-square-foot station, which will include living quarters and a six-bay apparatus bay. The project’s guaranteed maximum price of $10,496,824 will take approximately 12 months to complete. Funding for Fire Station 26 comes from fire impact fees and a $5 million state appropriation, sponsored by State Representative Adam Bontana and Speaker Paul Renner.
Once complete, Fire Station 26 will be staffed by three full-time firefighters providing Advanced Life Support (ALS) medical care and will have the capacity to house two additional full-time firefighters from Flagler County Fire Rescue on an ALS transport unit.
Palm Coast Fire Chief Kyle Berryhill said, “Fire Station 26 positions us strategically to deliver the best service to our community by reducing response times and strengthening our fire protection systems. We are thankful to Speaker Paul Renner and Governor DeSantis for supporting our vision and helping bring it to life.”
Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin added, “Public safety has always been one of our highest priorities in Palm Coast. Our fire department serves as the backbone of that safety, and Fire Station 26 will further strengthen that backbone. Together, we are building a stronger future for Palm Coast.”