HUDSON, Fla. — CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that Fire Station 3 would serve the Seven Springs area. Fire Station 17 serves the Seven Springs area and not Fire Station 3. Fire Station 3 will cover the Hudson area as well as Bayonet Point. We have updated the article and removed the mention of Seven Springs.

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After a year-long construction delay, Pasco County Fire Station 3 is now open and operating.

What You Need To Know

  • Pasco County Fire Station 3 is now open and operating after a yearlong construction delay

  • An innovative design is helping keep both the community and firefighters safe, with the implementation of "hot, warm and cool zones"

  • The three zones help classify how firefighters return from a call and, as fire staff say, limit their risk of developing cancer

  • More fire stations are on the horizon for Pasco County, with a rebuild ongoing at Fire Station 19

The new station is a state-of-the-art facility that is shaping the future of the department. The innovative design is helping keep both the community and firefighters safe.

“The service that this is going to do for this area is going to be phenomenal,” said Commissioner Jack Mariano of District 5.

A special ceremony takes place at the newly constructed Fire Station 3, ushering in a new era for Pasco County Fire Rescue, with a ceremonial push-in of fire engine 3. But the station is more than just another base of operation — it’s helping keep both the community and firefighters safe.

“We’ve had a real goal towards limiting cancer in the fire service and Pasco County is on the leading edge of trying to do that,” said Deputy Chief of Administration David Mengel.

To help limit cancer, Mengel says Station 3 has what’s called “hot, warm and cool zones.”

“Right now, we’d be standing in what we consider our hot zone, so it’s the apparatus bay,” said Mengel. “This is where we’re going to come back from a call; a fire call. We’ve already had our decontamination on-scene and have gotten new gear from our Decon Unit.”

The three zones help classify how firefighters return from a call. From hot to warm, firefighters remove their gear. Then, they make their way to the cool zones.

“That’s going to include the rest of the fire station,” Mengel says while showing around Spectrum Bay News 9. “Up and down this hallway are all bunk rooms for our members to sleep in at night or to go and get some rest during the shift. Just to my left down here is going to take us into the gymnasium and then to the rest of the living quarters where you have the kitchen, living room and just a place for us to eat and an office to do some work.”

A total of 12 firefighters currently make up the station staff, with a tower truck, a fire truck and two ambulances with some room to grow.

“It’s quite a bit of crews and we can double that size if we need to,” said Pasco Fire Chief Ryan Guynn.

It’s all necessary for a growing community.

“This area, we’ve identified a long time ago as needing some extra service,” says Guynn. “Sometimes it takes a little while to get that service to fruition, but we’re glad that it’s here and we’re ready to serve.”

It’s bringing with it an innovative method for how the future of fire rescue in Pasco will look.

Mengel says more fire stations are on the horizon for Pasco County, with a rebuild ongoing at Fire Station 19.