“It’s big for us.” In roughly a month, PCB Fire Rescue will launch two new fire stations.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — Within a month, local firemen will be able to work out of three modern, storm-hardened facilities. On August 11, firefighters started relocating to the new Fire Station 31, which is situated inside the city’s municipal building at 17121 Panama City Beach Parkway, according to Chief Ray Morgan of Panama City Beach Fire Rescue. The station is located on the site of the defunct Station 31, which was constructed in 1993.

Morgan added, “It was not storm-hardened and was in pretty rough shape,” adding that the cost of rebuilding it was approximately $8.2 million. “We demolished it two years ago and replaced it with this one. It’s a brand-new structure in the exact same location. Additionally, his department is just four weeks away from relocating to the new Station 32, which is being constructed north of Shipwreck Island Waterpark, close to the intersection of Hutchison Boulevard and Alf Coleman Road. The construction cost was roughly $7.1 million. An extra structure that was constructed next to Station 31 and will house more city machinery is mostly to blame for the cost disparity between Station 31 and Station 32.

Like Station 31, the new Sation 32 will take the place of its antiquated 1986 counterpart. However, New Station 32 is situated in a separate area. On Hutchison Boulevard (Middle Beach Road), close to the Walmart, is Old Station 32. After firefighters leave old Station 32, it will be converted into the headquarters for the Beach Safety Division of Panama City Beach Fire Rescue. Station 30, the city’s first modern, storm-hardened building (certified to withstand Categorical 5 hurricanes), opened in 2020 and will be complemented by these two new fire stations. Behind Busy Bee, off Nautilus Street, is Station 30. According to earlier accounts, the construction cost was roughly $5 million.

“It’s big for us because the existing (stations) were not storm rated and were in pretty rough shape,” Morgan explained. Every time a hurricane hit, we had to evacuate our residents to a different location (Panama City Beach). That’s not particularly helpful for responding quickly. “This allows our people to be on the island, staged in house (and) ready to respond as soon as the storm clears.” “At the very base of our community … is having public safety,” Morgan continued. Without a police force and a fire department to ensure the safety and security of the community and its guests, everything else sort of collapses.