On Oct. 24, Wharton-Smith joined Charlotte County representatives to cut the ribbon at the newly built Station No. 5 in the Burnt Store neighborhood of Punta Gorda. See more pictures.
“We’ve needed this fire station for 20 years,” said Robert Hancik, Burnt Store Lakes Property Association President. “About 2,000 residents in 700 homes welcome this fire station.” County Commissioner Bill Truex agreed, saying the new fire station also offers quicker responses to residents along Burnt Store Road. He also said, “It’s a beautiful facility, and we thank the Wharton-Smith team for its successful construction.”
Station No. 5 is one building with two separate occupancies (housing and storage) and associated parking. It is a hardened building with Level E missile-rated impact glass and doors and a standby generator fueled by two 1,000-gallon underground LP tanks. The 9,232 square foot facility includes bunk rooms, offices, secure EMS storage, a fully equipped kitchen, a fitness room, and a day room. There are dedicated decontamination areas directly off the Apparatus Bay, so that crew members can clean up after a call without entering the living area, minimizing contamination.
During the ceremony, Caryn Huff, Project Executive, thanked the Charlotte County Commissioners, Administrators, and Facilities staff for their continued partnership. “It was an honor to build another important Public Safety Facility for Charlotte County. We value our relationship with the County and look forward to building more projects in the future.”
Charlotte County Public Safety Director Jason Fair spoke about the resiliency not only of the firefighters but the newly constructed fire station during Hurricane Ian. He said, “The County is grateful to have a building like this that protected our crews and the apparatus and made it to where we could respond immediately. As soon as the doors were open, they were able to get back out into the community.”
