ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — Fire Station 22 in Pass-a-Grille has sat empty since being flooded by Hurricane Helene last September and will soon be demolished, according to St. Pete Beach Fire Chief Jim Kilpatrick. 

“We planned on taking it down,” he said. “The storm just kind of expedited those decision points for us.”

The fire station was originally built in 1974. Kilpatrick said a study in 2011 deemed the roof to be inadequate. He said other problems include overhead doors which don’t meet code, walls that leak and a catastrophic generator failure.

What You Need To Know

  • Fire Station 22 has been vacant for nearly six months, since it was flooded by Hurricane Helene 

  • St. Pete Beach Fire Chief Jim Kilpatrick said they wanted to demolish the building prior to the back-to-back hurricanes 

  • A new fire station is estimated to cost $12 million  

  • Fire Chief Kilpatrick said a demolition contract has nearly been secured 

“When I came on board the fire department in 2002, they were talking about taking that station down,” he said. “So at every catastrophic event we’ve lost access to that station.”

Kilpatrick said last year’s back-to-back hurricanes have provided a funding opportunity.

“A silver lining to this disaster,” he said. “I don’t want to move past this window of opportunity and not take advantage of every dollar that we can get from outside the city.”

A new fire station is estimated to cost $12 million. In February, the city commission approved the demolition but has not yet approved any funding to build a new station.

Kilpatrick said State Rep. Linda Chaney previously secured a $2 million grant for a new station and he’s confident they’ll find more funding.

“I think the community will join us in one voice. They want this structure rebuilt,” he said. “It’s important to the city, but also to Pass-a-Grille.”

In the meantime, the Fire Station 22 firefighters have been working out of a temporary facility located in a parking lot near the Don CeSar resort. FEMA covered the $57,000 monthly cost to rent the portable steel structure through Feb. 28.

“It’s basically like an envelope shape when it gets on the site and then it unfolds into these modules,” said Kilpatrick. “The kitchen’s a separate module, the bathroom’s a separate module, the bunk rooms are a separate module.”

The city currently pays for 25 percent of the cost, while FEMA covers the remaining 75 percent. Kilpatrick said they will soon switch to a double-wide trailer, which will cost much less at $7,000 per month.

“The novelty is kind of worn off of this station,” he said. “We’re going to try and make it more comfortable for a longer term.”

The fire chief said it will likely take about two years to build a new Fire Station 22.