North Port Fire Rescue has a new station standing guard over one of the fastest-growing corners of Sarasota County. Fire Station 87, at 17890 Preto Blvd. in Wellen Park, has been running calls since June and officially opened with a hose uncoupling ceremony on August 12, marking the department's seventh station overall.
The station's arrival comes as North Port continues to be recognized as one of the fastest growing areas in Sarasota County, as FOX 13 Tampa Bay reporter Kimberly Kuizon reported this week. That growth has been anything but gradual. According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, North Port's population jumped 28.7% between April 2020 and July 2025, climbing from 75,009 residents to more than 96,500 — making it the most populous city in Sarasota County.
Perhaps the most notable detail about Fire Station 87 isn't its location, but how it got built. Developer Mattamy Homes funded the $10.2 million project upfront, with the City of North Port set to reimburse the company over time through impact fees collected on new construction in the area, according to the same FOX 13 Tampa Bay report. It's a financing model that lets the city add emergency infrastructure without taking on debt while growth in Wellen Park pays for the services that growth demands.
A Department Built on Elite Standards
The new station doesn't come at the cost of quality. As of August 2026, North Port Fire Rescue maintained its Insurance Services Office Class 1 rating, according to the City of North Port, placing the department among the top 1% of fire protection agencies nationwide. That distinction matters directly to homeowners and business owners, since an ISO Class 1 rating typically helps lower insurance premiums.
Station 87 isn't the city's first major investment in Wellen Park's public safety footprint. Back in April 2022, North Port opened a $13 million, 25,000-square-foot public safety building that houses Fire Station 86, a police annex, and Sarasota County Fire Station 26 — the city's first major public safety investment inside the master-planned community. The new station now joins that facility in covering the corridor's rapidly filling neighborhoods.
A Second Major Project Underway Downtown
Wellen Park isn't the only place North Port is pouring money into fire infrastructure. The city is simultaneously building a new $17.5 million flagship headquarters, Fire Station 81, on City Center Boulevard, after the original 1998 facility suffered severe structural damage during Hurricane Ian in September 2022. Reconstruction reached its topping-out milestone in July, with full completion targeted for December, per the city.
Unlike Station 87's developer-funded model, Station 81's rebuild relies on Sarasota County sales surtax revenues and fire district fees, without the city issuing debt. North Port's charter prohibits municipal borrowing without voter approval, so officials have leaned on multi-year capital planning to fund major projects like this one without adding new local tax burdens.
Growth Reaches Beyond Fire Service
North Port spans nearly 100 square miles, making it the largest city by land mass in Sarasota County — a sprawling footprint the city has held since it was incorporated in 1959 as North Port Charlotte by the General Development Corporation. That vast, low-density layout is part of why placing new stations strategically has become critical to maintaining response times as neighborhoods fill in.
Fire rescue isn't the only agency scrambling to keep pace. Sarasota County Schools is opening the new Wellen Park High School in mid-2026, alongside ongoing school expansions elsewhere in North Port, reflecting how housing growth in the corridor is driving simultaneous investment in public safety, education, and retail. Hoodline has previously reported on the retail side of that boom, including a second Publix headed to Wellen Park as the area's grocery footprint expands.
Open questions remain about how the city will manage this rapid build-out over the long term, including whether impact fee collections will keep pace with the city's reimbursement obligations to developers like Mattamy Homes, and how staffing across seven active stations will scale with continued hiring needs. For now, Fire Station 87 gives North Port Fire Rescue another foothold in a community that shows no signs of slowing down.
