As Seminole Woods Soon Gets Its Own Fire Station, Emergency Response Times May By Cut in Half for Many

Almost two decades ago, when Kyle Berryhill was interviewing for a job at the Palm Coast Fire Department, then-Chief Mike Beadle told him that “Seminole Woods is a place we know we need to be.”

Jerry Forte, the fire chief who succeeded Beadle, issued a 10-year plan five years ago that included a fore station in Seminole Woods as part of its recommendations, thus relieving pressure on Flagler County Fire Rescue, whose Station 92 at the county airport is the primary responder south of State Road 100, and where a city crew has also been stationed.




Today, Berryhill, the city fire chief since 2022, led the groundbreaking for the $10.5 million Fire Station 26 on Airport Commerce Center Way, opposite Ulaturn Trail and around the corner from Seminole Woods Boulevard. The station will be sited near Citation Boulevard, which now connects with Belle Terre Boulevard.

“The reason we want to celebrate is somebody’s going to get to eat more Thanksgiving dinners with their family,” he said. “When our citizens see this station, what they should think about is that the firefighters are willing to put them before us. That’s what we’re about. That’s what we’re here to do, and we are so grateful for their trust.”

The station will serve upward of 7,000 households when it opens in January 2026. It will be the third-busiest of the city’s six fire stations, and it will significantly reduce emergency response time, which has been an issue in those neighborhoods.

The city has long set 7 minutes or less as the ideal response time when residents or businesses call for emergency services.

“The actual response time data for the city limits south of [State Road] 100 reveals that the responses south on Belle Terre Parkway and Seminole Parkway are outside the City Council performance measure of 7 minutes, 85% of the time,” the fire department reported five years ago. There had been some 1,200 responses to incidents in a three-year span. It was in the 7 to 9 minute range for the midsection of Seminole Woods and Quail Hollow, and in the 12 to 14 minute range, with some spots over 14 minutes, in the southern third of the two neighborhoods.




At the time, there still remained 4,000 developable lots south of State Road 100. Construction has been brisk since. “The recommendation is that city council move forward with building and staffing a new fire station on Seminole Woods Boulevard to meet the demand for service in this area in a way consistent with city council expectations and national response standards,” the fire department had recommended.

A few dozen people gathered at the groundbreaking site, under a giant American flag hanging from the extended ladder of Ladder 25, right above a ceremonial mound of tan dirt and a table set with fire department helmets for council members, four of whom showed up (Mayor David Alfin, Nick Klufas, Theresa  Pontieri and Charles Gambaro, in order of a soon-vanishing seniority, with Ed Danko a no-show.)

Deputy Chief Bradd Clark emceed, at one point turning unexpectedly poignant as he introducing Alfin with affectionate words. Clark described “how much of a good man he is” from getting to know Alfin over the years, from Clark’s non-political role.

“I soon will be in that non-political role,” Alfin said, a wry reference to his recent loss at the polls. “Looks like a good path to follow,” he said. He did not have to say that it clearly wasn’t the path he wanted or expected to follow. But he didn’t dwell on that. “This is a day of progress, a day of community, and most importantly, a day that marks a significant step forward in protecting the lives and property of our residents,” Alfin said, reading from a prepared text. “Homeowners in these areas can expect a reduction in their fire insurance ratings, another example of how we are constantly working to improve the quality of life.”




Like Berryhill, Alfin thanked the people instrumental in making the financing of the fire station possible, among them Paul Renner. As Speaker of the House in the last two years, Renner directed nearly $150 million in special appropriations to Palm Coast, including the $5 million that was part of the package that survived Gov. DeSantis’s vetoes in 2023.

The other half of the bill is paid by revenue from fire impact fees, the one-time levy builders and developers–and eventually, new homeowners–pay on new  residential and business construction. Put another way, the city is financing the fire station without debt or money from the general fund, which is supported in large part by property taxes. But that fund will be bearing the recurring annual cost of staffing the new fire station as nine firefighters will fill the house in crews of three, each working every third 24 hours.

“Every time that we have a station, we need nine people,” Berryhill said. The nine are a minimum. “Those people are working today at Station 92 at the airport.” Engine 29, operating at the airport, has been designated for Station 26. The station has been designed to include space for a Flagler County Fire Rescue: the county runs the ambulance service countywide, jointly with the city and in its own stations.

A caveat: the city’s fire impact fee of $420.52 for single-family houses (and $680 for a 1,000 square foot business, or 0.68 per square foot) has been losing its purchasing power. The city wanted to use the impact fee to pay for the new station and new fire trucks, plus a training facility. That’s  not been possible with rising costs, despite the city’s mini-boom in construction over the last four years. Berryhill said the impact fees will be studied for a possible revision next year.