Flagler Estates residents who once waited roughly 20 minutes for a fire truck now have firefighters and paramedics stationed in their neighborhood.

St. Johns County announced the opening of Fire Station 21 on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 4630 Melanie St. in the rural community west of Hastings. The $4.5 million facility provides space for five full-time St. Johns County Fire Rescue personnel and a St. Johns County Sheriff's Office substation under one roof.

Emergency response times expected to fall

The station is expected to reduce emergency response times from approximately 20 minutes to just a few minutes, according to Dusty Wilson, St. Johns County Fire Rescue assistant chief. Responses previously came from Station 8 in Hastings.

"Now inside, embedded in this community, response time will just be a few minutes," Wilson said.

County officials, first responders and residents marked the opening with a ceremonial fire hose uncoupling. As the ceremony began, two deputy sheriffs left to respond to an emergency, according to the county announcement.

$4.5 million facility combines fire rescue and law enforcement

The 6,092-square-foot building includes one and a half apparatus bays. Passero designed the facility, and Vargco led construction.

The station brings advanced life support capabilities directly into Flagler Estates, allowing paramedics to provide advanced emergency medical care closer to residents.

The Sheriff's Office substation gives law enforcement a permanent local base, placing deputies closer to the communities they serve.

Russ Martin, director of patrol and operations for the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, called the project "a shared vision" and credited collaboration across county departments, including Public Works.

The county's Infrastructure Delivery Team helped coordinate the project from planning through construction.

Residents advocated for closer emergency services

"The residents of Flagler Estates have advocated for emergency services closer to home for many years, as the nearest fire station was previously in Hastings," said Joy Andrews, St. Johns County administrator. "We listened, recognized the importance of this need, and made it a priority."

Shirley Lassiter, chair of the Flagler Estates Community Redevelopment Steering Committee, described the opening as the result of "years of advocacy, dedication, and determination by Flagler Estates residents who believed our community deserved closer access to emergency services."

Flagler Estates is a rural, unincorporated community west of Hastings in southern St. Johns County. Its distance from existing emergency facilities meant firefighters and paramedics previously had to travel from outside the neighborhood.

The new station brings fire rescue, emergency medical services and Sheriff's Office operations closer to Flagler Estates and surrounding communities.

Actual emergency response times will depend on the location and circumstances of each call.