Venice Fire Rescue Station 52: New campus centralizes emergency services
New Venice fire rescue station
Work is coming along on Venice Fire Rescue Station 52. It's located right off East Venice Avenue, and the new station will house many city agencies under one roof. FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon reports.
VENICE, Fla. - Venice Fire Rescue is building its new Station 52 and public safety campus off East Venice Avenue to house a number of city assets and speed up response times.
Venice public safety facility
What we know:
Work is currently underway on Venice Fire Rescue Station 52, located right off East Venice Avenue. The campus brings together many services under one roof to boost efficiency and streamline operations.
The facility is divided into three functional areas: one for operations including EMS, a second for fire response, and a third for support services. The fire response section mirrors a standard fire station, while the support area features training classrooms, storage space, and administrative resources. Front bays will house ambulances and fire rigs, and rear bays will store Emergency Operations Center equipment needed after storms pass.
"The primary goal of this campus and this public safety machine that we were able to put together here is solely for our response to the community is to provide effective, efficient and the fastest response possible. This station is replacing one of our fire stations that is out of its preferred response area due to the growth of the city. This realigns our response areas, and it also takes us out of a flood zone that we used to be in," said Venice Fire Rescue Logistics Chief Matthew Tomer.
Faster emergency response times
Why you should care:
The central layout allows crews to stage equipment for faster response to car crashes, fires, and hurricane rescues. Tomer, explained that the facility acts as a public safety machine designed to deliver effective, efficient, and fast emergency services.
"What this campus will allow is regardless of the emergency and regardless of the storm we get or catastrophe that comes our way we will be able to house equipment and personnel so that the minute we are able to respond, we will be able to do so in the quickest, safest fashion," said Tomer.
The new location replaces an older fire station that fell outside its preferred response area due to city growth. Moving to the East Venice Avenue site realigns coverage areas and moves operations out of a local flood zone.
Agency collaboration and training
Local perspective:
Located next to the Venice Police Department, the campus features gas pumps that both police and fire crews can share to increase operational efficiency. An onsite training tower ensures firefighters can complete training nearby without leaving their trucks or gear behind when emergency calls come in.
"Right now, if you need to train, you would have to go off site, which puts you out of your response area which reduces our response times. That tower allows crews to train on site in the response area and, with the location out front, they’re able to respond immediately to their apparatus, which is parked feet within their training. Regardless of the time of the day, they can always respond and reduce our response times," said Tomer.
Tomer said the campus allows personnel and equipment to stay housed together regardless of the disaster, enabling immediate and safe responses. Station 52 Fire Headquarters and the public safety campus are anticipated to be operational by April.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon, who toured the construction site and interviewed Venice Fire Rescue Logistics Chief Matthew Tomer.