“It’s bittersweet,” retired Westside Fire District Chief Ed Cleveland said Dec. 17 at the groundbreaking ceremony for West Manatee Fire Rescue Station 4.
Cleveland was the last fire chief of the Westside Fire District before it merged with the Anna Maria Fire Department in 2000, creating WMFR. He said he spent many hours in the old Station 4 building.
“There’s a lot of memories here,” Cleveland said of the building, which had stood on the site for 54 years before being torn down in early December to make way for the new structure.
“I’m excited for the future,” he added. “I will miss the old building but I can’t wait to come to the dedication of the new one.”
WMFR Fire Chief Tom Sousa credited Chief Andy Price and the district’s commissioners with driving the construction project.
“Price saw a vision to upgrade the facilities in 2009,” Sousa said. Price, who retired April 30, created a facilities plan for the district in 2009 that saw Station 1 in Holmes Beach upgraded, Station 2 on Cortez Road upgraded and expanded, and will end with the construction of Station 4.
Once completed, the new station will be the district’s hub of operations in the event of a hurricane. The station will have enough room to store all of the district’s response vehicles, house firefighters and paramedics and serve as a communication center.
Sousa said construction is expected to take up to six months.
During construction, the fire and EMS crews from Station 4, along with their rescue vehicles, are being housed around the corner from the site at the district’s administration building, 6417 Third Ave. W., Bradenton.
WMFR Commissioner David Bishop said the construction is the final major capital improvement project for the district in the near future.
“We’re looking forward to 50 more years of good service,” he said.