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Fire Rescue reports fast turnout times, two stations planned; community health programs expand
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Summary
Gainesville Fire Rescue reported an average turnout time of 36 seconds and an overall travel time around 5:08; staff said two stations (3 and 9) will move toward early site work using surtax funding while community-health initiatives (opioid-abatement funds, co-responder teams, MAT enrollment) continue to expand.
Fire Chief Sean Hillhouse presented Gainesville Fire Rescue’s quarter-one FY26 report, highlighting prevention, operations and community-health activity.
For operations, GFR recorded 7,167 requests for service in the quarter with EMS as the largest call driver (4,725 calls). The department’s average turnout time was 36 seconds (below a 1-minute national benchmark) and average travel time was roughly 5 minutes, 8 seconds; Hillhouse noted national benchmarks and the department’s ongoing adjustments to system-status deployment.
Interim Chief Operating Officer Brian Singleton said the city is nearing closing on the HCA property needed for one of the projects and that guaranteed-maximum-price early-release packages for Fire Stations 3 and 9 will be presented to the commission in coming months so site work can begin while building permits proceed. Both projects are primarily funded by the voter-approved surtax, Singleton said.
On staffing, GFR reported being down seven positions but planned to onboard those positions starting March 2; a new logistics officer was starting Feb. 16.
Brandy Stone, director of community health initiatives, described opioid-abatement settlement planning and a range of prevention efforts: a transportation contract with the Nehemiah Project, a public information campaign, and a barbershop-based blood-pressure program (“Fresh Fades and Healthy Hearts”) that had completed 49 blood-pressure checks in the reporting period and planned expansion. Stone also reported MAT program enrollment at about 55–56% for the quarter and county-level overdose dispatch counts for Oct–Dec of 292 calls (96 in October, 102 in November, 94 in December) with two fatalities in the quarter in Alachua County.
Impact GMV updates included safe-storage outreach in identified hot spots, a technology-hub laptop distribution to six community organizations, and the BOLD program’s client outcomes (college enrollment, employment placements and mentorships). Commissioners asked for continued long-term trend charts and thanked GFR and partner agencies for community engagement and service deliveries.
