IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN IN NASSAU COUNTY PROBABLY UNAWARE. THE HUGE GROWTH AT COUNTY IS
UNDERGOING NASSAU THE 5TH
FASTEST GROWING COUNTY IN
FLORIDA WITH NEW SUBDIVISIONS
GOING ALL OVER
THE AREA AND A LOT OF THAT’S
DUE TO CHEAPER LAND RETIREES A
LOT OF
BUSINESSES EXPANDING. NEARBY
WOOD ON THE NEARBY JACKSONVILLE
NORTH SIDE I SHOULD SAY RIGHT
AND NOW LOCAL GOVERNMENTS HAVE
TO PLAY CATCH-UP AND ONE AREA
WHERE THE COUNTY
HAS STRUGGLED.
>>KENT JUSTICE: IS FIRE SERVICE
RIGHT NOW NASSAU COUNTY FIRE IS
BUILDING A
NEW STATION WITH MORE ON THE
WAY IN NEWS 4 JAX REPORTER
SCOTT JOHNSON IS HERE WITH
DETAILS SCOTT WELL MARY LET’S
LOOK AT THE MAP RIGHT NOW THIS
NASSAU COUNTY CAN KIND OF TELL
JACKSONVILLE’S
DOWN HERE.
>>MARY BAER: YOU’VE GOT OUT
HERE YOU HAVE AMELIA ISLAND
FERNANDINA BEACH YOU’LL YOU
HAVE A TON OF HOMES
IN THERE. SO THAT’S ONE PART OF
THE STORY THEN OVER HERE ON THE
OTHER SIDE. YOU HAVE EARL
CALLAHAN
AND HILLIARD THE COUNTY IS
DOING ITS BEST TO MAKE SURE
THAT IF YOU NEED A FIREFIGHTER
AND YOU NEED AN AMBULANCE.
THEY’RE THERE AND QUICKLY
AMOUNT OF TIME.
>> THE STORY OF NASSAU COUNTY
CAN BE TOLD IN A SENSE.
ALONG ONE ROAD THAT STRETCHES
FROM FERNANDINA. CALLAHAN.
STATE ROAD 200 IS WHERE YOU
FIND THE TRAFFIC JAMS.
>> GROWN TREMENDOUSLY BETWEEN HERE IN YULEE AND THE ENTRANCES TO ALL THE NEW SUBDIVISIONS AND
THERE’S SO MUCH GROWTH GOING ON
THEY’RE GOING HAVE TO ADD MORE
FIRE SAID.
♪
>> AND IF THERE’S AN
♪
>> EMERGENCY SOMEWHERE.
IT’S VERY LIKELY A CREW WILL BE
BATTLING TRAFFIC TO GET THERE.
♪
THAT’S BECAUSE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE MOVING INTO WILDLIFE AND TIMBER CREEK IN THIS COUNTY
THAT’S 40TH IN THE NATION FOR
GROWTH.
>> WE NEED 5 SECONDS. YEAH, I’M
OR.
>> DONE A LOT OF
♪
PEOPLE HERE.
>> I ARE CHEAP BRADY REAGAN AND
SAYS THEY’RE BUILDING THIS NEW
STATION
IN YULEE.
>> THIS STATION IS OWNED
CHESTER ROAD IS IN HERON ISLES
NEIGHBORHOOD IS SCHEDULED TO
OPEN IN APRIL OF
THIS YEAR.
>> BUT FRANKLY MAN POWER
REMAINS AN ISSUE TO HANDLE ALL
THE CALLS ACROSS THE COUNTY 3
YEARS AGO WE WERE ON TO PEOPLE
IN EVERY ENGINE COMPANY IN AN F
B A RECOMMENDS THAT ARE 4 ON
EVERY ENGINE APPROACH TO BOARD ABOUT IT AND THE BOARD WAS VERY AGREEABLE TO US INCREASING OUR
STAFFING NEWS FOR JAX’S HEARD
FROM SOURCES IS A NASSAU FIRE
IS OVERWHELMED BY THE
UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH HERE ARE
SOME NUMBERS.
>> THEIR NUMBER OF EMERGENCY
AND FIRE CALLS
WAS 8767 FOR THE FIRST 11
MONTHS OF 2018 COMPARED TO
9,026 IN 2019 9227 THROUGH
NOVEMBER, 2020. BUT STAFFING
HAS BEEN GOING
UP TOO. WE PULLED STAFFING
NUMBERS OF THE PAST 5 YEARS IN
2016 2017 THERE WERE
105 ON STAFF. THEN THE BIG JUMP
START IN 2019 STEP INCREASES
TOO. AND NOW IT’S AT ONE 41.
AND THE FIRE STATIONS ARE BEING
BUILT THERE’S THIS NEW ONE IN
YULEE SHOULD OPEN IN APRIL
OR MAY WITH ANOTHER OPENING
JUST WEST OF 95 IN ABOUT
2 YEARS.
>> THIS PARTICULARLY HAS BEEN
AN ISSUE HERE IN WESTERN NASSAU
COUNTY WEST OF
INTERSTATE 95. WE’RE UP UNTIL
NOW IT IS HISTORICALLY BEEN
RURAL. IT IS NOW AN AREA
SPRINKLED WITH HUGE
SUBDIVISIONS IN FACT THE HEAD
OF THE COUNTY PLANNING
DEPARTMENT CALL THIS AREA, THE
SLEEPING GIANT.
>> I THINK THE BIG SLEEPING
GIANT. THE CHALLENGE IS WESTERN
NASSAU IS THAT JACKSONVILLE IS
DEFINITELY GROWING.
>> TO THE NORTH AND WEST AND
THE LEM TURNER
ROAD BORDER.
>> SO THE ISSUE IN WESTERN
NASSAU IS RESPONSE TIMES THEY
CAN BE LONGER THAN THE COUNTY’S
AVERAGE 9 MINUTES, 35 SECONDS
BECAUSE THESE HOMES ARE SO
SPREAD OUT PEOPLE EXPECT THAT
WHEN THEY MOVED TO RURAL AREAS
IS THE COUNTY GROWING FASTER
THAN ITS GOVERNMENT CAN HANDLE.
WELL.
>> THAT’S A TOUGH QUESTION
ANSWER I THINK PLANNING IN IN
THE PLANNING
WORLD WEED. WE LOOK AT THINGS
FROM A LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE.
CROW SAYS THERE’S A LAG BETWEEN
NEW HOMES GOING IN AND GETTING
SERVICES LIKE FIRE
IN PLACE IN MANY RESPECTS NASA
FINDS ITSELF IN THAT LEG PERIOD
RIGHT NOW AND THESE
LOCALS NOTICE, CHECK OUT THESE
COMMENTS IN THE NEWS FOR NASSAU
COUNTY FACEBOOK GROUP.
THE COUNTY CONTINUES TO APPROVE
NEW CONSTRUCTION,
WHILE THE NECESSARY SERVICES
AND INFRASTRUCTURE SAY
STATUS QUO STATUS, QUO MEANS A
LONG TIME OF WAITING FOR THE
FIRST UNITS AND THEN SECOND AND
UNITS 4 STRUCTURE FIRES.
WHICH MEANS ALONG STATE ROAD
200.
♪
♪
♪ A GROWING PAINS WILL CONTINUE IN JACKSONVILLE’S NORTHERN
NEIGHBOR.
>> THE COUNTY PAYS FOR A LOT OF
THESE FIRE STATIONS INROADS
WITH THAT HELP WITH THEIR
RESPONSE TIMES WITH WHAT ARE
CALLED IMPACT FEES MEANING
EVERY TIME A HOME IS BUILT THE
DEVELOPER PAYS A FEE TO THE
COUNTY
FOR SERVICES. THE PROBLEM IS
THERE’S A YEARS LONG DELAY
BEFORE THAT MONEY TANGIBLY
TURNS
INTO THINGS.
>>KENT JUSTICE: LIKE A NEW FIRE
STATION AND APPARENTLY EVEN IF
NE NEEDED OR SCOTT YOU
MENTIONED THE COUNTY’S RESPONSE
TIME ABOUT 9 MINUTES 30 SECONDS
AND THAT HIGH COMPARED TO OTHER
NORTHEAST. FLORIDA COUNTIES IS
NOT AS BAD. IT IS YOU MIGHT
THINK BECAUSE WE’VE COVERED
THIS TYPE OF ISSUE FOR
YEARS SO.
>> I WENT BACK THROUGH SOME OF
OURS AND SAY IN 2016 WE TRACKED
JACKSONVILLE RESPONSE TIMES
FOUND DIFFERENT PARTS OF
JACKSONVILLE THEY ARE AS LOW AS
6 MINUTES AS SOME AREAS AS HIGH
AS 20 MINUTES FOR CERTAIN CALLS
AND PARTS OF THE COUNTY.
WE TRACKED RESPONSE. I’D FOR
SAY THE CLAY COUNTY SHERIFF’S
OFFICE IN
2019 THEY WERE 10 AND A HALF
MINUTES SO 9 AND A HALF OR
NASSAU COUNTY FIRE. NOT