Dual-purpose station has safety covered

As Sarasota County braces for the 2017 World Rowing Championship, it’s dedicating its resources accordingly.

The opening of Fire Station No. 17 on DeSoto Road, just west of Honore Avenue, not only marks the availability of emergency fire and medical services, but also a unique partnership with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. It will utilize a portion of the roughly 12,000-square-foot building for office space and equipment storage.

Sarasota Sheriff Tom Knight said the arrangement will make coordinating, staging and policing large-scale events at Nathan Benderson Park less cumbersome than in the past. In 2016, the park is expected to host about 50 events, including the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, the Modern Pentathlon World Cup Final and the USRowing Southeast Regionals, among others. 

Last year, the park hosted 35 events, equating to 18,000 participants and 35,000 spectators.

“We can have boots-on-the-ground planning here,” Knight said. “Everything will be here. It says we’re prepared to handle the world rowing championships. It’s very symbolic.”

The sheriff’s office will use the space for logistical needs, including storage of its boat, horses and other equipment, during events.

The sheriff’s operations facility will not be staffed for daily operations and is not open to the public.

The majority of the $4.7 million, three-bay fire station, however, will be staffed full time with firefighters and paramedics. 

Sarasota Fire Chief Michael Regnier said the new station is important for improving response times east of the station, particularly along the University Parkway corridor. It will serve the northern half of The Meadows community to University Parkway and roughly from Lockwood Ridge Road east to Lorraine Road/Dog Kennel Road. At least initially, it will service the future Lakewood Ranch Waterside project, to be comprised of about 5,100 homes south of University Parkway and east of I-75. 

“We’re always looking to make sure we have enough coverage,” Regnier said. “This station will reduce response times to the area, but it augments the overall system for Sarasota.”

The station, located at 5431 DeSoto Road, Sarasota, is equipped to handle 2,000 calls annually, plus future demands.

The closest Sarasota County fire station is Station No. 7, located about three miles away on 17th Street, Sarasota.

Manatee County has fire stations nearby, as well, including its Station 5 on Honore Avenue and Station 4 on Town Center Parkway, in Lakewood Ranch. Both are about two miles away and would respond to an emergency at the request of Sarasota, per an inter-local agreement.

Richard Bedford, vice president of planning for Lakewood Ranch developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, said SMR’s future 5,144-home Lakewood Ranch Waterside project, east of I-75 and south of University, is slated to have 60,000 square feet of civic space. Although SMR does not have any official space designated for a new fire station, he expects SMR would accommodate future needs requested by the fire department.