The new station was built on Godfrey Road. The project was approved back in June when the Morgan County Board of Commissioners voted for a $508,985 construction bid from Sunbelt Builders, Inc. a Covington-based company that submitted the lowest bid for the job.   

The BOC passed the bid in a 3-to-1 vote with Commissioner Philip Von Hanstein voting against the bid.  The new station is 3,400 square-feet, replete with three engine bays for fire trucks and a fully finished day room.  The county provided in-house the new station’s septic system, well, painting, kitchen cabinets and counters, and concrete. 

With the addition of the Newberry Fire Department’s 13th rescue unit on Monday, her fears are easing somewhat. The vehicle, Rescue 28, will provide 24-hour transportation and lifesaving services to Newberry and surrounding areas.  

Jeff Taylor, the acting deputy chief of the Alachua County Fire Rescue, said the starting cost for the new vehicle was $950,000, with recurring costs of about $650,000 yearly. He said the goal is for the standardized rig to reduce the average response time for medical services in Newberry from 18 minutes to less than 12.

It’s been more than a decade since the last rescue unit was added to the fleet, Taylor said, and Newberry’s growth has compounded the need for a new truck and contributed to longer response times. He said the fire rescue answers about 42,000 calls each year, a number that is just as daunting as it sounds.