Johns Island, South Carolina A county property agreement from 2009 will result in the construction of a new fire station on Johns Island.
Charleston County officials reached an agreement with developers Kiawah River Investment, LLC, and Ocean Boulevard Properties, L.P., for more than 1,400 acres of land.
The upcoming Kiawah River development will have more than 1,200 residences, as well as commercial and storage areas.
A section of that agreement will allow Charleston County to lease three upland acres for 99 years.
St. John’s Fire District officials estimate construction to begin on a new station in the summer of 2026.
Plans show an approximately 11,000-square-foot station along Kiawah River Drive. The facility will be staffed by around eight to ten firefighters.
According to Ryan Kunitzer of the St. John’s Fire District, firefighters will have a new location to practice for service calls as well as a place to decompress throughout their 24- or 48-hour shift.
“We plan to have a large training room so we can do things like CPR classes,” says Kunitzer. “It will include a cutting-edge fitness facility to help our firefighters stay healthy and fit. And then there’s a fantastic living room for our firefighters to relax in between events.”
According to Kunitzer, the ultimate purpose of the new facility is to satisfy the community’s expanding demand and needs.
“In areas where there is growth, and from the size of the buildings, and how many buildings as well, so that we have an effective response force,” Mr. Kunitzer states. “It’s not just this station, it’s other stations around it as well that, if there is a fire, that we can meet the needs of what is happening on that scene.”
Charleston County District 8 Councilman Joe Boykin says the facility will serve as a public safety hub.
“We’re also going to build a new EMS station that will include a small sheriff’s office substation,” Boykin tells me. “So they will all be co-located right on the same property, and it will be a very strategic area for which they can respond and cover the lower part of Johns Island and also support Kiawah and Seabrook.”
Leaders hope to have the firehouse completed by 2027.
