Plant City Observer
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VOLUME 6, NO. 118
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020
COMMUNITY WELCOMES
FIRE STATION
3
A dedication and hose uncoupling ceremony was held Tuesday afternoon for the long-awaited Fire Station Three on Park Road. BREANNE WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
It’s been a long time coming, but Fire Station Three is finally up and running. The city held a small dedication and hose uncoupling ceremony Tuesday afternoon for a select group of invitees in order to keep attendance down. The facility will be open for a public open house and tour sometime in November once the facility is fully operational. The ceremony was streamed on the City of Plant City Government’s Facebook page. “On behalf of the members of Plant City Fire Rescue and the City of Plant City we would like to welcome you to this very special day, the dedication of Fire Station Three,” Fire Chief David Burnett said. “The completion of Fire Station Three is a monumental moment not only for the members of the Fire Department, but also for the community we serve.” For those who have been following the saga, the event seemed like a sigh of relief. The city broke ground on the site
back in September 2018. At the time, that was a celebration in and of itself as there were plenty of speed bumps the city had to navigate to even get to that ceremony. No one expected it to take more than two years to bring it to life. The facility is located on Park Road near the Mike E. Sansone Commuity Park. Complications originally bumped the completion date from June 2019 to April 2020. There was a supply shortage, a lack of skilled construction workers in the industry and internal issues of the construction company that led to a revolving door of superintendents and project managers. Then the pandemic hit and the dedication ceremony was suddenly slid all the way to October 2020. So the mood was beyond jovial Tuesday afternoon as the small crowd gathered to celebrate the opening of the station and cheer along with the fire rescue crew at the unveiling of the gorgeous facility.
SEE PAGE 5
Justin Kline
City commissioners were presented with fire helmets during the Tuesday afternoon ceremony.