LOUGHMAN, Fla — Polk County Fire Rescue held a grand opening Thursday morning for its fourth new station this year.
The celebratory event began at 10 a.m. with a prayer, pledge of allegiance and the Star Spangled Banner.
Interim Fire Chief Rick Parnell led the event and noted how the area had grown so much and how different it was from when he started.
"When I started with what is now Polk County Fire and Rescue, there were far more volunteer firefighters in Polk County, than paid firefighters," Parnell said in part.
He continued, "Fast-forward to 2022. If you drove to this beautiful station you'd have to agree that Loughman is one of the fastest-growing areas in this county."
There are now four fire stations covering the Loughman area, he said.
According to the Polk County Commission Chair Martha Santiago, $26 million has been committed to the next fiscal year's budget to continue opening new stations.
"Our county is growing and nobody knows that better than this area. It is growing quickly. We are a county that is in need of modern solutions and this board is committed to making the resources available to protect our most valuable," Santiago said during the opening.
The ceremony also included fire traditioned such as a hose uncoupling instead of a ribbon cutting and a push-in ceremony.
You can re-watch the ceremony here.
