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Jupiter Fire Rescue gains ALS license; temporary Abacoa station planned ahead of October 2026 takeover
Summary
Jupiter Fire Rescue received an advanced life‑support transport license and is preparing a temporary station at Abacoa Community Park to ensure continuous service when the town assumes responsibility for local fire services on Oct. 1, 2026.
Jupiter Fire Rescue has completed the state licensing it needs to operate advanced life‑support ambulance transport and is planning a temporary station at Abacoa Community Park so firefighters can be staged before the town assumes local fire services on Oct. 1, 2026.
Chief Donato told the Town Council that on July 20, 2025 Jupiter Fire Rescue received its ALS transport provider license from the Florida Department of Health and that the Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously on June 10 to grant the town a certificate of public convenience and necessity that begins Oct. 1, 2026. He said the department also obtained a fire department identification number, completing regulatory prerequisites to operate as a fire department and ALS transport service in Florida.
The town plans a temporary station in the northwest corner of Abacoa Community Park, in a lightly used parking area near Independence Middle School. Town staff say the building—acquired from another department—will house a fire engine and either a rescue truck or ambulance, be rated to withstand a Category 5 hurricane and include landscaping along Greenway Drive. The temporary facility is expected to be installed by May 2026 and remain in place for roughly six to seven months, with operations beginning when Jupiter Fire Rescue assumes responsibility on Oct. 1, 2026.
Chief Donato said the temporary site is intended to allow firefighters to be staged in the Abacoa area before the existing Abacoa station on Military Trail is turned over to the town. The existing station, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Station 16, will revert to town ownership on Oct. 1, 2026; Donato said county staff have declined requests to meet about transition logistics until January 2026, and the town may need to renovate the existing facility after it reverts to town ownership.
Construction of two permanent town fire stations is also on schedule, Donato reported. Work at the Piatt Place site has stem walls and the first course of block in place, with a top‑out scheduled for September; the SynQuest station has footers and stem walls underway and an exterior block wall expected within a month, with its top‑out also slated for September.
Council members asked about response times and station siting. Donato said the town has run simulation models showing the temporary location would change average response times by only a few seconds and that Station 16 remains the preferred long‑term location. He underscored the town’s goal to move personnel into the existing station as soon as it is feasible after Oct. 1, 2026, but said timing will depend on the county’s turnaround and any improvements the town must make.
