KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – For more than 50 years, Fire Station 11 served the city, but, like many things, time took its toll on the building.

On Jan. 30, county and city officials gathered for a ceremonial ground-breaking event that gives new life to a brand-new Fire Station 11. The new station, which is being built north of downtown on State Road 21, will cost $2.4 million and comprise 10,360 square feet.

Clay County Commission Chairman Gavin Rollins, who lives and represents Keystone Heights residents, explained what the new station means for the city and those who will call this station theirs.

“If you’ve ever been to [Fire Station 11], you know that it’s not roomy – it’s like living in a submarine,” Rollins said. “It’s just not adequate for what they need to do to protect our community so this is a really neat day for this to come to fruition.”

For the city as a whole, Rollins is excited to see Keystone Height receive a station that will better serve the members of the county fire teams and provide room for expected growth. Personally, though, Rollins is happy to see the city he calls home receive the newest fire station in the county.

According to Rollins, building this fire station in Keystone Heights is a part of a long-term plan the county has for this sector of public safety.

“[The county] has a long-term plan to renew, improve and expand our fire stations across the county to provide for their growing needs,” Rollins said. “This is the first of what we hope to be many either upgrades or new stations as we look to the future of our public safety. Public safety is our number one priority as a county.”

Clay County Fire Chief Lorin Mock summed up his feelings about the new station in one word – finally.

Mock said he and his wife often drove by the site of the new fire station, to visit their daughter who lives south of the area, and that each time he passed the site, he found himself longingly looking at the piece of land.

“I had a vision of what you see on [a board with mockups of what the future station will look like] and to know that the day is here, makes me as happy as I can be,” Mock said.

According to Mock, the site of the new station is the former home of a forest fire watchtower that served the area for years. In that way, he feels this site to be a special spot for the new fire station.

The current Fire Station 11, which Mock said was built sometime in the 1950s or 1960s, houses just five adults and has only 900 square feet dedicated to living space for the firemen and firewomen. At the time of the ground breaking, Mock did not have the exact square footage for the station’s living space for staffers, Mock guaranteed it will be much more than the current aging station. The new station will be able to house eight to 10 staff comfortably. It will also hold the two trucks Fire Station 11 has right now with the ability to house more, if needed.

Mock doesn’t believe response time will be affected, as Fire Station 11 is simply being relocated to the new station, which is still in the city limits, but he is happy to say that the new facility is exactly what the fire teams in the area need. He is also proud to say the new station will have a fire pole.

“I’m so excited,” Mock said. “It’s appropriate to get those men and women that are living in that smaller facility out of it and looking forward to this brand-new station that they not only need, but deserve.”