Fire Station 72 Replacement Project

About Fire Station 72

Fire Station 72 (FS 72) is located on the northwest corner of Jimmy Moore Park located at the intersection of Wickham Road and Sarno Road. FS 72 was originally built in 1966 to house three fire personnel. The station is approximately 3,200 square feet, of which half is two bays for fire apparatus. FS 72’s response area is approximately 10.62 sq miles or 6,796.37 acres, for which a majority of the calls for service are east of Wickham Road. In 2025, the Melbourne Fire Department responded to 3,059 calls for service with average response time of 4 minutes and 28 seconds.

Project Information and Background

The City of Melbourne identified a need to schedule the replacement of four fire stations, to include FS 72, that are functionally obsolete. FS 72 was built in 1966 and therefore, no longer meets the minimum standards set by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Today’s standard fire stations for the land mass and population of Melbourne should house at least eight fire personnel and at least two fire apparatus. While the station has been remodeled several times over the years, the building footprint has not changed. NFPA’s minimum standards include guidelines for average response time of six minutes, a station that can withstand 170-mph wind speeds and provide for four engine bays to accommodate current and future apparatus and sized to accommodate a 50-year lifespan. In addition, the current station was built during a time when firefighting was a male-dominated career. The new station is designed to accommodate all firefighters, male and female.

On June 13, 2023, City Council approved a professional engineering services contract with PGAL, Inc. to conduct a Fire Department Needs Analysis and Station Design project. The contract authorized the space needs analysis and prototype design criteria for the replacement of Fire Stations 72, 73, 75, and 76. The scope of services required that the design criteria contemplate, at a minimum, the Fire Department’s needs for the next 40 years. The scope also included a schematic design for FS 72.

Following the schematic design of FS 72, it was apparent that a fire station meeting today’s NFPA standards would not be accommodated at the current location at Jimmy Moore Park. The City identified an opportunity to relocate the fire station in, generally, the same location on the City-owned property. However, while the current location of FS 72 is a legal non-conforming site given the current Future Land Use of Recreation with an Institutional zoning designation, the relocation would not be grandfathered and required a Future Land Use amendment to Public/Institutional for the approximate 2.67-acre area of Jimmy Moore Park.

City staff submitted an application for a Future Land Use amendment, which was heard by the Planning and Zoning Board on June 6, 2025. The Planning and Zoning Board approved the amendment by a vote of 6 to 1. Subsequently, the Future Land Use Amendment was presented to City Council on July 8, 2025, and was denied by a vote 6 to 1. During Council’s deliberation, Council members expressed concerns cited by residents and lack of due diligence on alternative locations.

On October 14, 2025, City staff presented five sites to City Council for the relocation and replacement of FS 72, to include two privately owned commercial properties along Sarno Road, one City-owned parcel on Sarno Road west of Wickham Road, and two options for location on Jimmy Moore Park: 1) the existing location of FS 72 with the condition that the drainage requirements could support filling in a portion of the stormwater pond, and 2) the previously proposed location at Jimmy Moore Park that was presented to City Council on July 8, 2025. City staff presented the findings of preliminary due diligence on all five locations. City Council voted to have staff explore one privately owned parcel on Sarno Road west of Wickham Road and the previously proposed location at Jimmy Moore Park – requesting that staff re-engage the public for input on the relocation at Jimmy Moore Park and whether there would be an opportunity to address the public’s concerns.

On April 20, 2026, following the completion of due diligence on both sites, the City held a community meeting to re-engage the public and solicit additional input.

National Fire Protection Standards

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) establishes roughly 300 code and standards that serve as the foundation for fire, electrical, and life safety. Specifically, NFPA 1710 is recognized as a national standard establishing minimum requirements relating to the organization and deployment of fire suppression operations, emergency medical operations, and special operations to the public by career fire departments. The requirements address functions and performance objectives of fire department emergency service delivery, response capabilities, and resources; therefore, it sets minimum requirements regarding staffing, response times, and safety, typically requiring 4-person companies and 4-minute response times for the first engine.

Did you know the Insurance Services Office (ISO) ratings of local fire stations can impact homeowner insurance premiums? At its core, an ISO rating is a standardized way to measure just how well-equipped your local fire department is to protect your property. When identifying a location for a fire station, response times are a critical factor for ensuring no loss of life or property, but for the homeowner, this can also mean lower homeowner insurance premiums. The Melbourne Fire Department has maintained an ISO Class 1 rating since 2022. This is the highest ISO rating.

ISO ratings are based on four core evaluation categories: Emergency Communications (10 points), Fire Department (50 points), Water Supply (40 points), and Community Risk Reduction (5.5 bonus points). Your fire department's core operations, including the location of fire stations, staffing capacity and capability, and age and condition of fire trucks and equipment make up more than 50% of an ISO rating.

The new Fire Station 72 will house two units/fire apparatus and up to nine fire personnel. The fire apparatus, an Advanced Life Support (ALS) engine with maximum staffing of five fire personnel (but not less than four), and a Heavy Rescue engine staffed with four fire personnel. The City completed the outfitting of the Heavy Rescue in December and staffed the engine with fire personnel in anticipation of the relocation of FS 72, which has since been delayed as staff continues to identify a new location. The Heavy Rescue is temporarily operating out of Station 76.

Next Steps

Melbourne City Council will discuss the FS 72 Replacement Project at the May 26, 2026, regular Council meeting.

While originally scheduled to be presented at the May 12, 2026, regular Council meeting, the next Council discussion on FS 72 will occur at the May 26, 2026, regular Council meeting. At the April 28, 2026, regular Council meeting, City Council provided consensus to push the Fire Station 72 replacement discussion to the May 26, 2026, regular Council meeting to allow staff additional time to conduct preliminary due diligence on a third site, a privately owned commercial property on Sarno Road east of Wickham Road. Staff will present preliminary findings related to this additional site (Site #4) along with the two previously discussed Site #2 and Site #5.

The website will continue to be updated as more information is available. For project questions, contact City.Hall@mlbfl.org.

Resources and Useful Information

FS 72 Response Area Map

FS 72 Rendering as of Fall 2025