Hawthorne residents might notice lower insurance rates now that a local fire station moved back into town.
The station, at 7405 SE. 221st St. in Hawthorne, opened on March 9. Alachua County Fire-Rescue Station 25 is 5 miles closer than the previous station at Grove Park, which had been serving the community for six years.
Those who live within several miles of a fire station could potentially see lowered insurance rates because of the quicker response times, said Ellen Vause, Hawthorne's city manager.
Vause explained that timing is key and said the more centralized downtown location will hopefully offset costs from the Grove Park location, which is farther away.
Firefighters hope to respond to calls from city residents quicker now that they will be in a neighborhood, said Bill Northcutt, Alachua County fire rescue deputy chief.
The Grove Park station was a doublewide mobile home that was not able to weather storms, Northcutt said. Now, the new brick building can endure the severe storms, meaning firefighters can stay on location regardless of the weather conditions.
Amos Mayes, who has lived in Hawthorne for over 40 years, said he appreciates the fire station being back in the community.
“It’s closer,” he said. “It’s more convenient that it’s right here in Hawthorne. I prefer it being up here than back in a trailer.”
The 8,475-square-foot facility offers fire and medical services, which will benefit the large elderly population in Hawthorne, Vause said.
“We have numerous senior (citizen) calls, so we are really excited to have that station occupied again,” she said.
The city of Hawthorne site closed in 2009 due to insufficient funding during the recession.
Now, Alachua County has funded a remodel of the abandoned station with money earmarked for fire rescue services, Vause said. Northcutt said they spent around $800,000 on renovations.
“There are certain pots of money that can only be used for the Fire Department,” he said. “We didn't compete with anyone for those funds.”
The renovations focused mainly on hardening the building, including adding a backup generator and hurricane-proof windows, Vause said.
“We’re really glad to know that during a major event, the county made preparations for the units to be able to stay in the building,” she said.
The centralized station also has new air conditioning and the latest technology.
The initial stages of design took a little over a year, and the actual construction took about six months, Northcutt said.
“It was completely gutted,” he said. “Everything was stripped all the way down to the walls. In essence, it is a brand-new building."
The Hawthorne station was initially built in the 1970s with a grant for the volunteer Fire Department. A few years later, Alachua County used the building to house a fire department but left in the early 2000s to open the Grove Park unit, Vause said.
The city of Hawthorne then started its own department, which had to close down in 2009 after the poor economy affected the population’s tax base. The department stayed vacant until the city and the county entered into an agreement in 2013 to give the county the building. It remains a county building today, Vause said.
“It actually puts us back in a community,” Northcutt said. “Grove Park was not really a community.”