NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — When you call 911 for help, there are two priorities: getting help to you as quickly as possible and making sure they’re fully prepared to help.

The city of New Port Richey says its new fire station will more than meet those goals and help keep more firefighters on the job. 

What You Need To Know

  • The city of New Port Richey will be opening a new fire station with amenities to help keep more firefighters on the job 

  • The station is twice as large as the previous one in the area and designed to put the health, safety and wellbeing of emergency responders first

  • New Port Richey Fire Chief Chris Fitch said he hopes the new site will be a symbol for safety, education, excellence and community pride

  • The fire station is scheduled to open in April

“The New Port Richey Fire Department is busier than probably what people think,” said Chief Chris Fitch of the New Port Richey Fire Department. “So, on an average, we respond to 17 calls per shift. Last month, we responded to 19 calls per shift.”

A critical service, city leaders say, will be elevated and improved once construction is completed next month on the new fire station.

Every week, Fitch and architect Rich Bekesh, president and CEO of Spring Engineering, conduct site visits. This new station is twice as large and designed to put the health, safety and wellbeing of emergency responders first.

“Cancer's the number one leading cause of death among firefighters now, which surpassed heart disease many years ago. So, a lot of the codes and standards are focusing on the health and safety of our firefighters,” Fitch said.

The design features a hot, warm and cool zone, including a decontamination area, targeting any toxic materials on the firefighter and their gear. But the process of removing contaminants starts as soon as the fire truck pulls in. A device attached directly to the fire truck’s apparatus will capture all the exhaust from it. There’s also a back-up system to help remove some of those particles, along with a bunker gear storage room for additional separation.

In addition, natural lighting throughout the building to reduce stress and anxiety, and soundproof windows to limit sleep interruptions.

“The building’s also designed to be a Cat 5-resistant structure, so the entire building will withstand a Category 5 hurricane,” said Bekesh. “The site’s been placed high up here on this side of (US-19), so that they’ll be able to respond after a storm very promptly.”

It’s more than double the size of the old station that was built back in 1974, with a better location for a faster response.

“It’s quick access to the busy Highway 19, and we’re able to reconfigure our response zones to maintain and improve our response times at that four minutes per call,” Fitch said.

Fitch says he hopes this new site will be a symbol for safety, education, excellence and community pride.

The project’s price tag is about $4.5 million. The land was donated to the city of New Port Richey in 1987 and designated to be used for a public purpose.

The fire station is scheduled to open in April.