Seminole Citizen’s Academy visits Fire Station 39, offers CPR demos and tours

Fire Station 39 gave Seminole County residents a close look at how county dollars are being turned into faster emergency coverage in the growing northwest part of the county.

The May 2 stop at 5639 1st Street in Sanford was part of Seminole County’s 2026 Citizen’s Academy, a free, family-friendly six-event series running from April 18 through May 9. The program is meant to show how local departments work through tours, demonstrations and hands-on experiences, and the fire-focused session delivered all three: a station tour, a Fire Fitness challenge and CPR instruction.

Fire Station 39 is Seminole County Fire Rescue’s 21st station and, county officials say, the newest and largest in the system. The station was built to serve the county’s growing northwest area, where population growth has increased demand for emergency response and put more pressure on nearby county and city stations.

County statements say the new station should improve response times by more than two minutes in some areas. It is also expected to serve nearly 11,000 residents and more than 4,100 households, a measure of how quickly development has pushed fire-rescue coverage into a larger footprint.

Work on the station began with a groundbreaking in 2023, according to county documents. The project was tied to the rapid growth in the Paola/Heathrow area, where county planners and fire officials have said service demands were rising faster than existing coverage could comfortably absorb.

The station also carries a safety upgrade that county materials say will set it apart. Station 39 will be the first Seminole County Fire Rescue station, and one of the first in Florida, to deploy a Crash Attenuator Truck for roadside and highway incidents. The vehicle is designed to improve firefighter safety by shielding crews from moving traffic at emergency scenes.

Two more Citizen’s Academy events remained after the Fire Station 39 session, keeping the county’s open-house series moving through the spring. For residents, the value is direct: the academy puts them inside the places where public money is being spent on preparedness, and it gives them a chance to see how CPR instruction, response equipment and station design could shape what happens when an emergency reaches their own street.