Jacksonville’s Argyle/Oakleaf community has a new and very welcome neighbor – JFRD Fire Station 61.

Located at 7965 Old Middleburg Road South, next to the Argyle Branch Library, the station will protect the rapidly growing region on Jacksonville’s westside. Station 61 will serve more than 200 businesses, approximately 14,300 residences and four schools. The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department officially opened the station on March 6.
 
The addition of a fire engine and rescue unit will improve response times in Station 61’s territory. In addition, Fire Station 61’s presence is expected to reduce property insurance costs for the approximate 5,700 homeowners and 100 businesses located in areas that were previously beyond 5-road miles of a fire station.
 
JFRD first placed Engine 61 into service at a nearby temporary location in October 2018, and soon after, response times in 61’s territory decreased from about 9 minutes to about 4½ minutes. That trend is expected to continue, and response times in adjacent fire districts could also improve.
 
Previously, Fire Station 31 on 103^rd Street and Fire Station 52 on Collins Road handled most of the Argyle/Oakleaf demand. With Station 61 in service, the demand on stations 31 and 52 has already been reduced by an average of nearly 140 calls per month. That allows fire apparatus and rescue units based at stations 31 and 52 to respond within their own territories more often, which also improves those fire districts’ response times.
 
“This illustrates the difference that one fire station can make in response time, workload, and of course, lives saved, and property protected,” said Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department Director/Fire Chief Keith Powers.