Construction is officially underway on a new Emergency Medical Services facility in Marion County.
At 9 a.m. on Wednesday, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at the new location for Marion County Fire Rescue’s Ocala Central Emergency Medical Services (EMS) facility, which is now called EMS Central.
Located at 1400 SW 6th Avenue in Ocala, EMS Central is an upgrade to MCFR’s previous facility, which was built in 1960.
In a press release, Marion County Public Relations stated that the upcoming EMS Central facility has been “years in the making.” This new location will provide easy access to the central and western areas of Ocala, as well as urban service areas outside of the city.
The new facility will feature:
- Apparatus bays to protect a dozen units from weather.
- Separate sleeping areas for nine crew members, the captain, and the battalion chief.
- Four restrooms with showers.
- A physical training room allowing for exercise equipment and other opportunities to improve employee health.
- Two dayroom areas where crews will be able to relax when not responding to incidents.
- A large kitchen and dining areas, allowing for crews to cook meals and eat together as an overall station.
- An option for a large training room with separate bathrooms to allow for crew training and other meetings to take place.
During Fiscal Year 2021-2022, MCFR units from the current station responded to a total of 18,186 incidents.
The funding for the EMS Central facility has been allocated through the Penny Sales Tax Initiative.