By Bryan Nelson

Back in 2017, the brand new AdventHealth Hospital on Apopka-Ocoee Road was no longer in need of the construction trailer on the rear of the property. With the growth in the southwest quadrant of the city, it was a great place to begin serving the area with a new fire station.  

We took over the old double-wide trailer, added a fire truck and ambulance with a crew, and we were off and lowering the response time for the residents in that area.  

In 2021, with the cooperation from the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) and AdventHealth, we were able to do a three-way land swap giving Apopka the needed land to build Fire Station 6. In that same year, then Sen. Randolph Bracy and then Rep. Kamia Brown were able to secure an appropriation of a $1 million dollars from the state Legislature to help with the construction of Fire Station 6.  

The city also began to design and build the Harmon Road extension, giving better access to CFX’s Maitland Boulevard (414) and helping to reduce the time needed to get to Fire Station 6 as well as AdventHealth Hospital.  

Last year, AdventHealth began the build-out of the fifth floor of the hospital and needed to remove the temporary trailer to be able to add additional parking for the increased bed count. Our Fire Department team moved our temporary fire station a half-mile down Harmon Road with our firefighter’s living quarters in the adjacent apartment complex.  

Although not ideal, it gave us time to complete the new station on the other end of Harmon Road.  

Last Friday, we celebrated the grand opening of the new fire station, an 8,000-square-foot building that will accommodate up to 21 full-time personnel over three shifts, and three emergency response vehicles, including a quint, an ambulance, and an EMS captain.  

This state-of-the-art facility will serve the residents of southwest Apopka, and we are proud to add this new life-saving amenity to the area. We would also like to thank CFX and AdventHealth for their partnerships, which enabled us to complete this project for the benefit of the community as a whole.  

We would also like to thank all the city staff members who played a part in making this project possible. This new station played a part in Apopka being re-certified as an ISO 1 Fire Department, which less than 1% of all fire departments across the country obtain.  

We are proud of all of our first responders and the life-saving work that they accomplish.