CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – Clay County is responding to explosive population growth with its first new fire station in more than 25 years, part of a broader $65 million investment in public safety improvements.
County officials gathered Thursday to mark the start of construction on what will be the new Station 1, located off Brannan Mill Boulevard, north of Old Jennings Road. The project represents a significant additional to the county’s emergency response capabilities.
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“It’s been exponential,” Clay County Fire Chief Lorin Mock said, describing the area’s growth. “I’ve been here almost 16 years and we’ve almost seen those service numbers double over that time. We were running about 15,000 calls a year. We’re now well up over 30,000 calls per year.”
The new station will serve the central part of Clay County, a rapidly urbanizing area along the State Road 23 and Blanding Boulevard corridors. Mock said the position near the expressway was carefully chosen to maximize emergency response effectiveness.
“Once 220 is reopened with the bridge connection,” he said. “The men and women out of this location can get almost anywhere in the county in a very short period of time. It’s a perfect location to build a new station.”
The expansion isn’t limited to just one location. Station 22 is also being relocated to County Road 220 near Arena Road, with both construction projects happening simultaneously.
“They are being constructed by the same group and the construction is concurrent,” Mock said. “We wanted to celebrate the opportunity with the community that these new facilities were going into service hopefully by the end of this coming year.”
To address this growth, the county commission has approved a $65 million investment for public safety improvements. The funding will support both new locations and strategic relocations of existing fire stations.
The chief said the new facilities will help manage increasing service demands, particularly with the rise in multi-family housing developments in the area.
“When we open [Station 1], we plan to add an additional engine company so we will see even more personnel come in to help offset the load,” Mock said. “But you just have to drive around here to understand that that isn’t changing—the load is growing.”
He said he hopes to have both projects complete by the end of 2026.