Fire Rescue awaits station rebuild

East Manatee Fire Rescue hopes to put a temporary station at Tom Bennett Park as it demolishes and rebuilds Station 2.

By Pam Eubanks
| 6:00 a.m. August 26, 2015

East Manatee Fire Rescue Station 2 will be demolished and replaced with a new building. It is about 30 years old and does not meet hurricane standards, among other issues.

East County
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EAST COUNTY — It would be easier to simply build a new fire station somewhere along State Road 64, but after exploring their options, officials of the East Manatee Fire Rescue Department have decided to stay right where they are.

Station 2, located at 803 60th St. Court E., Bradenton, roughly across from the State Road 64 Walmart, instead will be torn down and rebuilt.

“We needed it to be by the interstate or not too far from our western border, basically right up against Carlton Arms,” Dep. Chief Lee Whitehurst said. “State Road 64 has limited access, so that creates other issues. We are at an intersection we can control.”

East Manatee began the process for the rebuild more than a year ago, and had planned to complete the new station by the end of this fiscal year, Sept. 30. But, following a land search, permitting and other requirements, the option has taken more time than expected.

Now, East Manatee plans to set up a temporary station with ambulances at Tom Bennett Park as it demolishes Station 2 and rebuilds on the same two-acre property.

The proposal had been scheduled for consideration at the Aug. 25 Manatee County Commission meeting, but did not make it on the agenda.

“We acquired a modular building and the county is providing the property,” Whitehurst said.

About Station 2

Year built: 1982
Size: 5,848 square feet (4,500-square-foot footprint)
Levels: Two
Material: Metal
Rebuild costs: $3 million budgeted in Fiscal Year 2016 (includes costs for setting up a temporary station, planning and construction of the new Station 2 and station itself with fixtures, furniture and equipment)
What’s next: East Manatee Fire Rescue will replace the existing station with a 9,256-square-foot structure that can withstand 200 mph winds. The larger footprint will prove a tight squeeze on the roughly two-acre site, for most fire stations sit on about five acres. But EMFR officials have worked diligently to make acreage work because the site is the best option geographically for coverage. Officials still are awaiting final project cost estimates from construction manager Willis Smith Construction. EMFR Chief Byron Teates said three separate bids comprise the total cost, which is expected to be more than $1 million.

East Manatee is ready to move forward as quickly as the process permits, but Chief Byron Teates says it could take awhile. Even once an agreement for Tom Bennett Park is approved, East Manatee will have to set up a temporary station, equipped with appropriate communications, utilities and other resources, before it can move equipment from Station 2 to the temporary station.

“We don’t know the timing,” Teates said.

But, Teates said, there will be no disruption of service to the district’s busiest station.

“It would have been easier and cheaper to move firefighters over to Station 1, but then you’re decreasing response times,” Teates said.

Once plans are finalized, the new one-level station will take about nine months to construct and will be about 9,256 square feet. It will replace the existing two-level, 5,848-square-foot metal building that does not meet hurricane standards.

“We can’t wait,” Teates said.

Contractors already have broken ground and poured footers for a 1,000-square-foot storage facility on the site.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].