Since Hurricane Irma took the roof off the Robert O’Conner Fire Station in Cruz Bay, the battered structure has been used only as a garage for fire trucks and for equipment storage. When firefighters are on duty, they are housed in trailers situated across the road.
Now plans to build a new facility that triples the amount of the current usable space are in the approval process.
Members of the St. John Committee of the Coastal Zone Management Board discussed these plans as part of the permitting process for federally funded projects during an online public meeting on Monday.
The plans call for the complete demolition of the existing structure and the construction of a three-story building on the exact footprint of the old structure.
The new 9,825 square-foot facility will be built to much more stringent standards than the current building, which was built more than 40 years ago.
According to the Federal Consistency Report, the new facility will consist of three levels broken down as follows:
Level 1 – Two apparatus bays measuring 1,376 square feet, along with a cistern, pump room, vertical circulation, mechanical room, and other operational and storage spaces totaling 4,212 square feet.
Management Board on Dec. 9, 2025)
Level 2 – Kitchen, day room, fitness room, rest rooms, multiple offices, and vertical circulation for a total of 2,316 square feet.
Management Board on Dec. 9, 2025.
Level 3 – Dormitories, locker rooms, and vertical circulation for a total of 1,921 square feet.
Management Board on Dec. 9, 2025)
Clarence Stephenson, who serves as the district chief of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, said the new building will be able to house three vehicles for firefighting and rescue. No parking is available for firefighters’ private vehicles.
The fire station is planned for a .2-acre piece of property, which is “a very constricted site,” according to architect John Woods of Jaredian Design Group.
“I was hoping this plan would be for a substation,” said Andrew Penn, who serves as the chair of the St. John CZM Committee. “This (site) is ridiculously small. We need to find a better spot.” He suggested relocating the station to the nearby site of the tennis courts and putting the tennis courts on top of the building. “We can be creative,” he said.
Committee Member Kurt Marsh Jr. also expressed concerns. “This is especially frustrating given that we’ve gone through a Comprehensive Land and Water Use Plan process https://www.planusvi.com,” he said. “I cannot understand why we have not engaged in a master plan for Cruz Bay.”
Marsh said the STJ CZM Committee recently approved the plan to move the Julius E. Sprauve School, which is adjacent to the fire station, out of Cruz Bay. When the new school is built, there would be plenty of space to expand the fire station. “Nobody (on the committee) wants to deny the permit, but this (plan) is not very logical.”
Odari Thomas of the Office of Disaster Recovery said the Cruz Bay station is one of several projects for fire stations planned by Persons Services Corp., including two on St. Thomas and one on St. Croix. “We’re struggling to get the funds now. With a new site? And a new design? There’s no guarantee that we will have the funding.”
Stephenson confirmed that no other site near Cruz Bay was available.
Thomas said the solicited construction services are hoping to execute the contract by the end of 2025. The current plan “is the quickest way to provide the citizens with this service.”
The St. John CZM Committee will make a recommendation within 30 days of the Dec. 9 meeting.
