Sanford to open Fire Station 40 with hose uncoupling ceremony

Sanford is about to add a larger fire and rescue footprint on its fast-growing south and east side, and city leaders are marking the move with a Hose Uncoupling Ceremony at the new Fire Station 40. The 14,000-square-foot station at 3390 Skyway Drive will officially open at 9:30 a.m. June 24, giving the city a new base for Engine 40 and Rescue 40.

The new station is built for more than ceremony. Its four apparatus bays are designed to handle daily operations and leave room for a tower later, a sign that the city expects the area around it to keep growing. For residents in the expanding corridors east and south of downtown Sanford, that means fire and EMS crews will be staged closer to homes, businesses and roadways that have pushed the city to expand its public-safety network.

That expansion comes as Sanford continues to carry a heavy emergency workload. City information says Sanford covers more than 26 square miles, has a population of more than 59,000 and now operates three stations with nine units. In 2025, Sanford Fire reported 13,609 calls for service and 6,145 medical transports, figures that help explain why a fourth station has moved from planning to completion.

The department has also said it improved to an ISO rating of 2, a lower classification that can help property owners secure more competitive insurance rates. On the operations side, a new station can do more than add a building: it can change turnout patterns, improve coverage maps and spread staffing more effectively across the city’s fire, rescue and hazardous-response responsibilities. Sanford Fire says it responds to fire, medical and other emergency calls from its three existing stations throughout the city, and Station 40 will widen that reach.

City records show the project has been in the pipeline for some time. A 2024 budget amendment tied Fire Station #40 to construction and the procurement of Oelrich Construction, Inc., and a separate 2024 resolution added civil engineering services. A February 2024 city manager report said staff was working with The Lunz Group on design and expected to break ground in March or April 2024. By May 2025, the station was described as well underway and expected to be finished at the beginning of 2026.

The June opening now marks the handoff from construction to service, with Sanford adding a new public-safety asset in one of its most rapidly developing areas.