Panama City Beach Fire Upgrades

City Reports Good Progress on Three Infrastructure Projects

Panama City Beach, FL– Two new fire stations and a fire training tower will be completed and available for use before the end of the year. All three capital projects have been in the planning stages for some time and represent a $16.5 million investment in fire rescue services for the City.

“All of these facilities enable us to improve our level of service for the community,” said Fire Chief Ray Morgan. “Response times are critical to our rescue efforts and as this community has grown, so, too, have our calls for service. These two better-equipped stations and the training tower allow us to remain at peak service.”

Dominguez Design-Build of Pensacola is the contractor on both fire stations, which are being storm hardened. The two stations are Station 31, located within the Municipal Complex at the intersection of State Road 79 and Panama City Beach Parkway next to the Police Station, and Station 32, which is being relocated from Hutchison Boulevard to a new site on Hutchison just east of Alf Coleman Road.

The old Station 31, constructed in 1994, was demolished last year and is being replaced by a 12,680-square-foot station; the old station was in a state of disrepair and was evacuated during storm events because it was not built to sustain hurricane-force winds. Evacuating from the beach held the potential of slower response times after storms passed.

The Station 31 project (pictured above), with a price tag of $8 million, also includes a two-story accessory building nearby. Firefighters working out of Station 31 are currently onsite in temporary housing. This project is expected to be completed by the end of the summer.

Fire Station 32 is being relocated approximately 1.5 miles west of its current location. This station was built in 1986 and was only meant to house three firefighters. Five to six firefighters staff the station. The $7.2 million station is partially being funded by a $3.6 million grant from the State. It is expected to be opened in the fall, following the completion of Station 31.

The Highland Group is the general contractor for the 4-story fire training tower, to be located adjacent to Fire Station 30 off Nautilus Street. The $1.2 million state-of-the-art facility will be offered to area agencies for training as well.

This 7,000-square-foot building will be utilized for live burns, commercial building rescues and other simulations. Currently, firefighters train at condominiums and parking garages as well as at Gulf Coast State College.

The City received a $608,000 grant from the State Fire Marshall’s Office to assist with the construction cost of the training tower. It is expected to be completed this summer.

Fire Chief Ray Morgan provides WMBB’s Courtney Fegley with an update on the three capital projects underway within the Fire Department.

Mayor Mark Sheldon said these three new facilities continue to demonstrate the Council’s commitment to public safety. “We always want to make sure that our fire and police have everything they need because the safety of our residents, businesses and visitors is paramount to our success as a community. We want them to have the facilities, training, and equipment necessary to keep Panama City Beach the great community that it is.”

The City’s third fire station, Station 30, was opened in 2020.