JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Mayor Donna Deegan presented a proclamation to Fire Chief Percy Golden II on Thursday, July 16, at Fire Station 2 in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n
The event commemorated 140 years of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, with Fire Station 2 noted as the city\u2019s oldest continuously operating fire station.<\/p>\n
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department originated from the city\u2019s first paid fire department, which announced its first chief on July 15, 1886. Operations for the department began the following day, July 16, 1886, establishing the institution that has evolved into today\u2019s JFRD.<\/p>\n The department now covers 885 square miles across 71 stations and serves more than 1 million residents, making it one of the largest fire and rescue organizations in the country.<\/p>\n The JFRD observed its 140th anniversary over a two-day period. Personnel were notified of the milestone on July 15 and were surprised with the announcement of a commemorative anniversary patch.<\/p>\n The proclamation from Mayor Deegan was presented on July 16, specifically timed to the department\u2019s original first day of operations in 1886.<\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n Director\/Fire Chief Percy Golden II, director and fire chief of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, highlighted the department\u2019s consistent mission over the decades. \u201cOur equipment has changed. Our training has changed. But the principle underneath it all hasn\u2019t changed since the day we began,\u201d Golden said. \u201cThis profession is and has always been, about showing up for your community when it matters most.\u201d<\/p>\n Deegan praised the JFRD\u2019s historical impact and ongoing dedication to the community. \u201cThe Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department\u2019s legacy reflects our city\u2019s enduring commitment to safer and healthier neighborhoods,\u201d Deegan said. \u201cThe service and sacrifice of our firefighters continues to inspire future generations to answer the call with courage, integrity and selfless dedication. On behalf of the City of Jacksonville, I would like to thank our past, present and future JFRD members and congratulate them on their 140th anniversary.\u201d<\/p>\n [SIGN UP: <\/b>Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/b><\/a>] <\/b><\/p>\n The department\u2019s sustained growth has been supported by multiple generations of Jacksonville families, including current members who are either multi-generational firefighters or the first in their family to join the department.<\/p>\n Click here<\/b><\/a> to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to stream Action News Jax live.<\/b><\/p>\n Action News Jax Top Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Mayor Donna Deegan presented a proclamation to Fire Chief Percy Golden II on Thursday, July…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":942346,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5136],"tags":[379491,7320,5229,7323,379492,3188,723,7324,7310,7340,7327,48344,7325,117348,7326,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,7322,7321],"class_list":["post-942345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-140th-anniversary","tag-action-news-jax","tag-america","tag-cbs47","tag-fire-chief-percy-golden-ii","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-fox30","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-fire-and-rescue-department","tag-jacksonville-fl","tag-mayor-donna-deegan","tag-northeast-florida","tag-proclamation","tag-southeast-georgia","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-wfox","tag-wjax"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=942345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/942346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=942345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=942345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}