Chief Donato told the Town Council on Oct. 21 that Jupiter Fire Rescue will begin providing full fire and emergency medical services "just a little over 11 months from tonight." The chief outlined purchase agreements for medical and firefighting equipment, described two new fire stations under construction and detailed technology that officials say will shorten response times.

The update focused on three procurement and operations areas: medical supplies, personal protective equipment and information/traffic systems. The chief said the town will seek multiple purchasing agreements per item to reduce lead-time risk and secure better pricing. He told council that Jupiter will be able to carry whole blood and blood components on day one of service and that OneBlood is the sole local supplier. "This agreement . . . will allow us to purchase whole blood and blood components from the OneBlood organization," Chief Donato said.

Why it matters: Carrying whole blood in the field is uncommon locally and requires strict storage and documentation protocols. Chief Donato said Jupiter will follow the model used by Palm Beach County and Palm Beach Gardens, using a specialty vehicle with refrigeration and temperature monitoring rather than placing blood on every ambulance.

Details of equipment and safety standards: Donato said the department will provide two sets of structural firefighter ensembles (PPE) per firefighter so one set can be cleaned if contaminated. He said the new gear will be manufactured without added PFOS and will meet "the very newest NFPA" standard the department referenced during its presentation. The department also plans to purchase other specialized items tied to emergency medical and fire response; the purchase agreements on the agenda carry maximum-cap limits but, Donato said, are not expected spending amounts and remain constrained by the town's adopted budget.

Traffic and station technology: Donato described plans to install the Glance traffic preemption system at five intersections along Indiantown Road to grant priority passage to emergency vehicles using GPS and cellular communications. He said Palm Beach County traffic engineering has approved the installations and provided a letter of agreement. The Locution Station alerting system, Donato said, will be installed in the new stations; that system converts incoming 9-1-1 data into natural-sounding voice and visual alerts for responding units and is already used in some county stations.

Station construction and staffing timeline: Donato showed construction photos and said both new stations are on schedule. Work described included block work, plumbing and electrical rough-ins, placement of trusses and upcoming "top out" activity; he said the department expects to have operational personnel hired and apparatus and equipment in place within months of that schedule. "In just a little over 7 months from tonight, we will have hired all of our operational personnel... and in a little over 11 months from tonight, the Jupiter Fire Rescue Department will begin providing full fire and emergency services here in the community," Donato said. He closed by telling the council, "And as always, the good news remains, we are on schedule and on budget."

Questions and clarifications at the meeting: Council members asked operational questions about blood storage and deployment, whether blood would be kept in a central repository and how the Glance system would interact with county apparatus; Donato said the specialty vehicle would include refrigeration and monitoring, that a central repository would be established and that county units could use the system if devices are installed on their apparatus. Donato also said Locution is already in use at some county station(s) but that the town is confirming whether existing hardware would remain with stations when county units relocate.

Next steps: Donato said staff will bring specific purchasing agreements to council for approval as procurement advances. The agreements include maximum cap figures to allow multiple vendors; Donato reiterated that actual purchases will conform to budget constraints.