Palm Coast opened its first new fire station in 17 years during Memorial Day weekend, celebrating the grand opening of Fire Station 26 with a ceremony that doubled as a tribute to the community the department serves. Days earlier, the department held a separate ceremony to dedicate the station’s engine in honor of a Special Forces soldier killed in Afghanistan in 2008.
The Grand Opening
Fire Station 26, located at 72 Airport Commerce Way in the Seminole Woods area, is Palm Coast’s first new fire station since Station 25 opened in 2009. The ceremony was led by Interim Fire Chief Bradd Clark as Master of Ceremonies. Nine-year-old Laurel Duffy performed the National Anthem, and Fire Department Chaplain Chris Cottle offered the invocation. Mayor Mike Norris and all City Council members attended.
In keeping with fire service tradition, city and fire leaders performed a hose uncoupling — used in place of a ribbon cutting — as the station’s large red bay doors swung open.
The station houses nine firefighters spread across three crews covering three shifts. The Palm Coast Fire Department now includes 74 career firefighter positions and a number of volunteer firefighters.
Fire Chief Kyle Berryhill, who also serves as Interim Deputy City Manager, noted that Station 26 is expected to handle more than 3,000 calls per year on its own — roughly the same total the entire department handled in 2005, the year Berryhill joined the Palm Coast Fire Department. More than 1,000 residential properties will now be within five driving miles of the station, improving emergency response times and potentially lowering homeowner insurance costs in the area.
Berryhill spoke candidly about the personal meaning of the new station, noting that it would have been the responding unit had it existed during his own father’s cardiac emergency.
“It would not have changed the outcome for my dad,” he said. “But someday, because this station exists, it will be different for someone else’s dad.”
He also described the station’s broader mission and the values that shaped its design.
“This station is not just a building. It is time. It is a capability. It is trained professionals arriving faster with the equipment, training, compassion, and determination to help people on the worst days of their lives… We are grateful. We are proud. And we are excited for the future of Fire Station 26.”
Vice Mayor Theresa Pontieri, whose husband is a firefighter, spoke about what a fire station means to the people who live and work inside it.
“When they have little off time, when they’re not responding to 27 calls a shift, they may get some time to relax in recliners in the common rooms, play a video game or two when the tones aren’t dropping. When they have those tough conversations that they don’t carry home to their family and friends, they have them in those walls. This is a house. This is their home,” Pontieri said. “And it’s important to me that the community recognizes how much of a role you play in giving them this. It matters.”
The station was designed by Schenkel Shultz, with architect Zoran Lozanovski leading the project. He described how the fire department shaped the interior layout with mental wellness in mind — specifically requesting that spaces be arranged to encourage firefighters to cross paths with one another throughout their shifts.
“They wanted the building not just to be a building where people come together, but a building that fosters caring for one another, supporting one another in the everyday line of work,” Lozanovski said. “Thank you for entrusting us with this vision.”
The station was funded through a combination of approximately $5 million in state funding and impact fee investments. Construction was completed by Wharton-Smith, with General Superintendent Tim Moore overseeing the project.
Engine 26 Dedicated to a Fallen Green Beret
On May 23, 2026 — the Friday before the grand opening — the Palm Coast Fire Department held a separate Gold Star Dedication Ceremony to honor Army Sergeant James M. Treber by dedicating Fire Engine 26 in his memory.
Sgt. Treber, 24, died on June 29, 2008, following a non-combat-related accident near Khosrow-E Sofla in Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province while supporting combat operations with Company A, 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne).
A native of San Diego, California, Treber volunteered for military service in 2005 and later earned the Green Beret, serving as a weapons sergeant with the 7th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He completed Airborne School, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training, and the Special Forces Qualification Course during his military career.
The ceremony included a presentation of colors by the Palm Coast Fire Department Honor Guard and Flagler Palm Coast High School Air Force JROTC FL-936, remarks from Chief Berryhill, a biography presentation, the unveiling of Engine 26, and a bagpipe performance by the Palm Coast Fire Department Honor Guard Pipes & Drums. Gold Star families, veterans, and community members attended.
“This dedication is about more than a fire engine or a building,” said Chief Berryhill. “It’s about remembering a man who, in the final moments of his life, chose to protect someone else before himself. From this day forward, every firefighter who serves on Engine 26 will carry Sergeant Treber’s name with them on every call, every emergency response, and every life they help protect. His legacy now becomes part of the continuing service this department provides to the Palm Coast community.”
Engine 26, a 2024 E-One Typhoon, will serve the Seminole Woods and Quail Hollow neighborhoods. Since 2021, the Palm Coast Fire Department has maintained a tradition of dedicating fire apparatus in honor of Gold Star recipients.
The post A New Station, a Fallen Hero, and a Promise: Palm Coast Opens Fire Station 26 and Dedicates Engine to Green Beret Killed in Afghanistan first appeared on Flagler County Buzz.
